


Interstellar

by Fluxx



Series: Cryo-Crash [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Cyberpunk, Dimension Travel, F/M, Jonathan is up to no good, M/M, Multi, the Shadowhunters meet their counterparts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2018-12-31 16:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12136131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluxx/pseuds/Fluxx
Summary: With Valentine in prison, Jonathan Morgenstern has taken his place as CEO ofStarStrata. Intent on fulfilling his father’s vision, Jonathan has somehow found a way into the Shadowhunters universe, tracking a key element needed for the company's next breakthrough. The ossers have followed him to track him down, apprehend him, and return him to their world, but in their quest to do so Jonathan realizes the first phase of his plans, bringing a dark future closer to reality.





	1. First Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > _Cascading waves of change_   
>  _The future we think to be inconsequential, can effect the future indefinitely_   
>  _Once you had the power to effect monumental change, would you let fear consume?_   
>  _Or would you overcome?_
> 
> -[ _Starset, First Light_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL8SfMw0DJc&index=1&list=PLk6BQLseS5iYVCtDmXulkf1u6f5BarYIP)

Jace, Clary, and Izzy dropped everything the very moment the Institute's alarm sounded. Alec was already at the command table by the time they arrived, regarding the digital table with heightened intensity.

"What triggered the alarm?" asked Izzy, though she was already checking the displays herself.

Alec gravely watched as confusion twisted her face. "It's Jonathan," he reported, turning to Clary. "Your brother."

"What?" Clary asked, turning to regard the monitor as Alec threw up the man's picture. "I thought Jace killed him?"

"I did," he asserted, arms folding across his chest. He nodded at the display, saying aloud what the others were already realizing. "That's not him."

Sure enough, though the man certainly held a certain resemblance to Clary's brother, he could hardly pass for the same, demon-blooded monster they'd faced not even a week ago. Aside from the differences in facial structure, he was far more composed and clean-cut than Jonathan had ever been, and wore an exquisite, tailored suit. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes and, perhaps most peculiarly of all, not a single rune marred his particularly pale skin.

Clary shuddered at the memory of her brother, then turned to Alec. "What makes you say it's him?"

Alec set his hands upon the table's edge, reviewing all the information the Institute's scans had delivered. "You remember the electrum? It took a while, but we were finally able to get a read of his energy signature off it. I had our techs update the sensors to throw a unique alert if they picked it up."

"Why?" Jace mused. "Like I said - I _killed_ him."

Alec shrugged. "Stranger things have happened, and we never recovered the body. Case and point..." He gestured towards the monitor.

Izzy carefully studied the figure shown, still doubting the Institute's assessment. "He doesn't have any runes. He's masquerading as a Mundane?"

"If I had the slightest clue how that guy's mind worked, he wouldn't have made it through our doors in the first place." Sensing his sister's lingering guilt upon her tongue, he quickly continued, not giving her a chance to reinforce such notions. "Regardless of his reasons why, he's here, and he's a known threat. We have to take him out."

Jace nodded his agreement. "How do you want to do this? He'll see us coming if we attack outright."

"Trail him," Alec ordered, pointing at him and Clary. "See if we can figure out where he's holing up, and we'll strike him there. Stay out of sight, but if he _does_ see you two, he'll be more likely to blow his top - we'll have an easier time taking him down when he's not thinking straight."

"What about us?" Izzy piped up, her hand tightening about her whip. From body language alone, they could all tell she was out for blood.

Alec noted it with a restrained hesitance, then laid a hand upon her shoulder. "For now, you and I will review all the information we have on him." Hand still holding her, he turned his head and nodded to the monitor. "He doesn't seem to know we're onto him. Let's take advantage of that, and hopefully get out ahead of him this time."

Izzy relaxed a bit, but her lips remained pursed. "Alright. I'll retrieve all the Institute's security footage, see if we can glean anything else to help keep an eye on him through the city's traffic cams. Speech patterns, stride, nervous ticks..." She turned to Jace and Clary. "If he's disguised himself again, we'll need anything we can get our hands on to see through it."

Alec dismissed them with a nod, calling after them, "Keep us updated with anything you find!" He continued watching until they disappeared beyond the Institute's heavy doors, then turned and caught his sister just as she was making her leave. "Hey, Izzy," he replied, voice lowered and gentle. His thumb stroked her arm as reassuringly as he could, and make sure to hold her gaze so she'd take his words to heart. "We're going to stop him, alright? I won't let him hurt anyone else."

Though she smiled, he could tell she still held a world of doubt - or perhaps fear. "I know, Alec," she replied, patting his back before taking her leave. "I know."

* * *

Clary groaned, her head falling back against the alley's wall. "What the  _hell_?" She eyed Jace anxiously. "Has he moved yet?"

He shook his head. "Still working on his latte." His tone was as irritated as it was tired. Though he remained pressed against the corner of the building blocking them from Jonathan's view, his arms had long ago resolved to hang limp at his sides, and his knees were starting to give way. "Oh, wait!" he gasped, causing Clary to perk up before recognizing the sarcasm in his voice. "He's turned the page of his newspaper! That article must not have been very interesting. Moving along to the personal ads, perhaps?"

She smacked his arm. "Cut it out," she snapped, leaning over to look for herself. Sure enough, the man was fingering through his paper, face shifting as he glanced up and down its contents. "You've  _got_ to be kidding me. He's been sitting there reading for over an hour!!!"

Jace looked up from his phone. "Alec says the sensors are still insisting it's him. This doesn't make any sense."

"It's totally possible the sensors are wrong, right?" Clary pointed out. "Maybe we got the wrong signature?"

A flicker of movement caught the corner of their eyes. They eagerly turned and looked, hoping Jonathan was finally on the move - they found themselves equally disappointed and alarmed when, instead, they caught a demon skittering down the street.

Jace's eyes widened, muscles tensed. "Ravener!" The minute he said it, he saw Clary grabbing her Seraph blade and caught her arm. "No! Jonathan will see you!"

She angrily yanked her arm free. "So then back me up! We can't let that demon hurt anyone!"

Before he could do anything more to stop her, Clary took off, breaking out into the open with her sights set upon the demon. "Damn it, Clary!" he cursed, pulling out his phone to call Alec. "Come on, come on... Pick  _up_!"

As Clary ran, her brow narrowed, a wariness surfacing through her adrenaline.  _That demon... is headed straight for Jonathan... ?_  Jonathan, who  _really_ should have noticed her by now, come to think of it. If not her, surely the demon, at least?  _Unless it's a trap,_ she belatedly realized. Even as she leaped through the air, sword raised to strike down the Ravener demon, her mind worked overtime to come up with a backup plan should that be the case.  _He's more likely to talk to me if I'm alone. He doesn't know Jace is here - probably. I can buy us some time. Maybe let him take me hostage?_

Her blade came down, slicing clear through the demon. Its pained shrieking filled the air for a brief, horrible moment before dying off, its body collapsing into a pile of burning cinders. Breathing heavily, she lifted to a stand and turned her narrowed glare upon Jonathan...

...who had looked up from his paper, but was searching the area around him, as if Clary weren't standing right beside him at all.

Clary waited with baited breath, watching the young man before her slowly, carefully survey his surroundings. _There's no way_ , she thought, following his gaze as best she could through his dark glasses. _There's no way this can be him!_  And yet, even as she thought it, she could feel an undeniable sense of familiarity, as though her very soul _knew_  it truly was her brother.

She'd just decided to pull out her phone, still standing beside him, when his brow furrowed, and he slowly lowered his newspaper.

Then, he spoke, and her heart froze.

"I know you're there, Clarissa."

Movement flickered all around her. She whirled, only then realizing the five Mundanes seated around him were armed with guns she'd never seen before. Even as their hands moved to the weapons concealed beneath their jackets, Jonathan lifted a gloved hand to steady them, then returned to his paper.

"There's no need," he assured them with a chilling, even composure. "If she wanted me dead, I imagine she'd have done it by now." He turned the page with an uninterested sigh. "Or Alexander, perhaps."

_I **do**  want you dead!_ she thought defiantly, but now there were too many questions for her to rightly know what to do. This was undoubtedly Jonathan, but everything about him was... well, _wrong_ , as odd as it was to admit it. And it wasn't just his looks. From head-to-toe, his entire manner evoked nothing of the cold-blooded monster she'd known. Absolutely, a certain ominous air loomed about him, but it was calm and calculating and composed, much more like a lofty and refined king of an empire than the wild and rampant beast their father had made of him.

He disturbed her wheeling thoughts with another turn of his newspaper and a sigh which could only be described as very mildly perturbed. "You may as well reveal yourself. Or is it your intention to make me seem right mad?"

She had a mind to just stab him and be done with it, but her phone buzzed in her hand - a text from Jace.

> _keep him talking_
> 
> _izzy and alec are profiling him_

With pursed lips, she traded her phone for her stele, then steeled herself for the conversation to come as she moved it across her rune. In a smooth, even sweep, the light folded around her, revealing her before Jonathan's hidden eyes - though, really, she shouldn't have  _had_ to.

She fixed him with a hard and distrusting glare, but that hardly seemed to surprise him - not more than something else, apparently, which brought his brow to rise. "Honestly, Clarissa... Father goes to jail, so you celebrate by inking yourself to Hell and back?" He abandoned his paper with a negligent toss, instead lifting his coffee to his thin lips. "You're a disgrace."

Her eyes widened with too many questions for her to ask at once. She grasped at the more immediate of them, mostly due to the sheer audacity of his claim. " _I'm_ a disgrace? You—"

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Yes, yes, we all know what you think of us, Clarissa." The way he said her name unnerved her, yet his treatment of it seemed so plain to him - he wasn't trying to irritate her, that's just simply what he called her. Except, of course, that it  _wasn't_... not from her perspective, anyhow. He glanced up at her from his coffee and frowned. "...Well _sit down_ ," he urged, emptily gesturing at the chair across his small table.

"I'm fine, thanks," she bit through gritted teeth. Her eyes flickered over him. "Well, what about you? You may as well drop the disguise already."

The laugh was painfully familiar - the same half-chortle, the same ending inflection, the same haughty arrogance. "It's called a 'suit.' Perhaps you'd know that if you and Simon hadn't run off with that repulsive vagabond."

Clary tensed, unable to believe her ears. The way he spoke of her, of _them_  even, as if they'd had a long and tumultuous childhood together... Everything he said gave further evidence both that this was but  _couldn't be_ Jonathan. Or perhaps, she wondered, something had happened to his memory of  _her_? Perhaps what she'd happened upon wasn't a trap at all, but rather an opportunity in disguise? If he was disoriented, or... otherwise mixed up, somehow... Well, that was something they could use, wasn't it?

"I can only assume you're talking about Jace," she tried, playing along. It no longer mattered how different he seemed, how different his memories seemed - all that mattered was taking him out and putting a stop to whatever plot he'd set in motion. "He's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Jonathan scoffed, idly sipping his latte. "Indeed. I somehow think the late Mrs. Lewis would rather disagree with that." Another thought occurred to him as he lowered his drink and began enjoying the scenery. "Or sweet Simon, for that matter. The whole point some nonsense about loving each other equally?"

Between his implication about her relationship... relationships... and his conviction about Simon's mother - and how did he even know her, anyway? - she found herself disarmed and blinking. "What?"

Jonathan released an exasperated sigh. "Drop this ridiculous play, Clarissa. I'm sure you didn't follow me here to simply—"

When he suddenly cut off, she tensed. Was this it? The moment he'd hatch whatever trap he'd laid? Her hand moved to the hilt of her Seraph blade, the five surrounding guards in turn reaching for their guns, but to their collective surprise Jonathan was soon laughing again, his manner wholly relaxed as he set down his coffee and leaned back in his chair.

"Oh. Oh, my God," he fathomed as he regarded her -  _truly_ regarded her, studying her closely from head-to-toe. "How...  _truly_ fascinating. I must say, I really hadn't expected this!"

Clary's brow narrowed as she warily ventured, "Expected  _what_? That we'd hunt you down the moment you popped up in New York?"

"Is _that_  what you're doing?" he laughed in that familiarly irritating, arrogant tone of his. "So we're enemies even in this world, are we?"

She stilled at that, and he rose to a stand, elegant and poised. Taking a half-step back, her hand tightened about her hilt, an in an instant the guards drew their weapons. All around them, Mundanes were watching, whispering. She released her blade and rose her hands, eyes flickering worriedly across the passers-by, and the guards lowered their weapons. _I can't let anyone get hurt._

"What's going on, Jonathan?" she snarled, quiet and as steady as she could manage.

He shook his head and _tsk_ 'd her, one hand lifting to cup her cheek. It felt wholly different from the way he'd held her before, gentle and distantly reminiscent, fond even. "Dearest sister... You and your friends are in for _quite_  the treat." He nodded to her Seraph blade. "Since you've been so hospitable, I'll allow you this final warning." Suddenly, his hand grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in close, close enough that his lips graced her ear, and she swore he could feel the race of her heartbeat.

"You, sweet Clarissa," he purred lowly, at last revealing some of the sickening corruption she remembered in her brother, "will  _never_  - not in this world, nor in my world, nor in any  _other_ world - keep  _StarStrata_ from its glorious future." His foreboding message delivered, he yanked her away from him, tossing her aside like a used rag.

She stumbled back a few paces as her hand furiously drew her Seraph blade. But even as the guards trained their sights upon her, a hand caught her arm, and her body froze with the certainty of her imminent death.

" _Don't_ ," Jace's voice hissed behind her.

Subtly, she relaxed, comforted by the familiar voice.

"I don't know how, but he's a Mundane. Izzy and Alec checked the scanners and confirmed it."

Jonathan didn't appear to see Jace - that alone would have been enough to finally convince Clary of it, had her brother's cryptic words not already cemented her suspicions. As he turned his back to her and finished his coffee, he nonchalantly muttered, "Do stay out of my way, hm? I have enough business to attend to _without_ sorting through dead bodies."

Clary felt Jace's hand tighten on her arm, likely as much to steady his own impulses as to hold her back. As they stood and silently stared, Jonathan deposited his empty mug upon the table, when wove his hand to round up his guards. Apparently satisfied with all he'd said, and nothing more than that, he quietly, casually strolled away, his hands slipping into the pockets of his dress coat and his guards blending into the surrounding pedestrians.

When they were finally alone, they both released their breaths, Clary swiftly re-activating her rune to disappear from Mundane sight.

"We  _have_ to stop him!" she immediately insisted, whirling on Jace.

"I know," he assured her, hands moving to her arms. "And we will. But right now, we have to get back to the Institute."

She frowned. "Why? He's right there! And he can't see us! Why don't we just stick with the plan and keep trailing him?"

"New plan," he explained, dropping his hands to grab hers and lead her running down the street. "Alec called, there's something wrong with the Institute."

"What?" she asked as she ran. "You mean  _at_ the Institute, right?"

"Just  _run_!"

* * *

Activity burst throughout the building, all hands on deck grabbing their weapons and preparing for anything. Alec stood by the malfunctioning command table, delivering orders left-and-right to make sure the Institute remained secure while their systems were compromised. Blue light pulsed throughout the main hall, but no one could tell where it was coming from. Any attempts to figure it out had to be relayed - no one in the room were able to leave, and no one beyond were able to enter, though no walls appeared to be separating them apart from the colored sheen.

Jace and Clary burst through the Institute's front doors and discovered this for themselves, slamming into a hard, invisible wall that knocked them back upon the ground.

"Guys!" Alec yelled, whirling and running towards them. He stopped a few feet away from the bizarre division, his expression betraying just how lost he felt.

"What's going on?!" Clary cried for what felt like the millionth time this afternoon alone.

"We have no idea," he replied, panicked eyes surveying the area around them in search of some clue he might have missed. "It just... It just started doing this!" he emptily professed, gesturing towards the room around him.

But then, a computerized voice resounded throughout the Institute, answering some questions but prompting so many more.

> _GATEWAY SECURE. BRIDGE COMPLETE. INITIALIZING TRANSFER IN 3... 2... 1..._

Alec spun back around to face the Institute. "ARMS READY!!!" he yelled, everyone raising their weapons upon his command.

As the voice approached zero, the blue light pulsed faster and faster, until at last it swelled so bright that it blinded the whole area, even spilling beyond the room's unseen confines. They all guarded their eyes with raised arms, but even still it took some effort to recover when at last the light faded, the blue hue slipping away completely and leaving the Institute exactly as it'd been before...

...save for the presence of a few more occupants.

In precise time with each other, Jace, Clary, Alec, and Izzy raised their weapons, even as the group of identical counterparts did the same. But rather than Seraph blades, bows, or whips, the other Jace and Clary unwaveringly aimed what looked like futuristic guns to their heads, and the other Alec and Izzy had risen little more than their right arms, a strange metal brace wrapping their wrists and fingers. A small, mechanized bat hovered by the other Izzy's head, and at the other Alec's feet snarled a massive, metallic wolf. It wasn't until a few seconds of tense silence passed that the Shadowhunters realized two more stood among their twins.

Simon didn't appear concerned with anything happening around him, beholding the Institute with wide-eyed and open-mouthed awe like a child seeing snow for the first time.

And then, there was the final member of the group, his expression blooming with rampant joy as his glowing, yellow eyes fell upon Alec.

"Hello, Alexander! My name is Magnus Bane. It is a pleasure to meet you!"


	2. Satellite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > _And I won't suppose to know why you walked away_   
>  _But I can feel you pushing through beyond the space_   
>  _To send your energy to me and I'll push through_   
>  _Send your signal home and bring me back to you_
> 
> _-[Starset, Satellite](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbdQNGBw9E&list=PLk6BQLseS5iYVCtDmXulkf1u6f5BarYIP&index=2)_

Alec stared in stunned silence, only jolted from his stupor by an arm suddenly crossing across Magnus's chest.

"Stay back!" he heard his own voice command, though he was certain his lips hadn't moved. A sharp, red light beamed in the middle of his vision. He quickly raised his bow back to a ready position, realizing the light originated from the other Alec's raised fist - or, more precisely, the odd contraption wrapped around it. "Just looking like us doesn't make them trustworthy!"

A kind of somberness infected Magnus's yellow eyes, his whole expression falling so drastically Alec felt his heart clench at the mere sight of it. Luckily, Clary spoke up before he started apologizing for anything and everything under the sun, just to make that look go away.

" _We're_  not trustworthy?" she scoffed in disbelief. "You just invaded our Institute!"

"Your _world_ , really," Magnus corrected, his manner gravitating back towards a neutral disposition.

"How can you guys even see us, anyway?" Izzy demanded, glaring down at the group from the raised walkway. "None of you have any Runes, so you're not Shadowhunters, but demon alarms haven't gone off, so you're not Downworlders either. You're Mundanes."

"Uh, rude?" the other Jace griped, making no attempt to hide the way his eyes scaled Izzy head-to-toe. "And here I was about to say you're an _exquisite_  copy of our own Lady Lightwood."

As Izzy's mouth parted to snap at him, the other Izzy sent a sharp jab of her elbow into his side. "Cut it out, Jace," she hissed under her breath. Izzy, meanwhile, smirked - she, at least, would get along _very_  nicely with her doppelganger. They shared a brief grin before the other Izzy lowered her braced arm, causing the tiny bat which had been flitting beside her head to move closer to her. Its claws reached out and grabbed the collar of her leather jacket and its wings folded at its sides so it could hang, still and motionless, from the thick, sturdy material.

"It's our VisOS," she explained, her free hand gesturing towards the thin, black lines decorating the outside edges of her eyes. The lines looked like the paths of a circuit board, each line perfectly straight with a small, open circle at every corner and endpoint. "A.L.I.C.E. modified our patches to register paranormal light signatures."

They all stared blankly at her, grappling with at least three novel concepts that had all spilled out of her mouth at once. Finally, Alec shook his head and wove his hand, signaling the other Shadowhunters to resume their duties. "This is going to take a while," he muttered under his breath to Jace.

" _I'll_  say," he agreed, still puzzling over his twin. He couldn't decide whether his appreciation for the good looks and sharp tongue outweighed his nausea at the rather...  _forward_  attitude. It didn't appear to discriminate, either, save for the subtly heightened closeness with the other Clary. (And Simon, he noted then quickly tried to ignore.)

The other Alec grabbed and pulled Magnus closer to him, his body shifting to shield the peculiar twin and his hand raising to aim his sights in the middle of Alec's forehead. "I didn't _say_  you could approach us!" he snarled.

"What, so we're just going to stand around glaring at each other?" Jace scoffed, Alec meanwhile raising his hands - he didn't have any clue what that metal brace might do to his head, but he was fairly confident he didn't want to find out, at least. Then, of course, was the mechanical wolf at his feet, jagged teeth bared and an electric snarl resonating from somewhere in its chest.

Simon reached from behind the other Alec to lay a comforting hand upon his shoulder. "They're right, man. We're not going to get anywhere stuck in this standoff." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Clary staring at him, and offered an awkward wave and smile. More out of impulse than anything else, she returned it with a silent wave of her own.

The other Alec pursed his lips, clearly not pleased by any of this, but finally lowered his fist, Alec in turn lowering his hands and releasing his held breath. "Fine," the other Alec grumbled. As he turned to Magnus, his expression softened, and a kind of relief came to Alec's face when he saw that his counterpart and his Magnus appeared to be... well, interested in each other, at least. Whether it was anything more than that seemed anyone's guess. "Just... be careful, alright? You trust people too easily."

Alec frowned.  _That_ was different...

But Magnus didn't seem at all bothered by it. "Yes, Alexander."

The other Alec looked like he wanted to say something more, but he dropped it, turning back to the Shadowhunters with a glower. "I'm guessing you guys have questions."

"Yeah," Alec piped up, only now realizing how tense he'd become. Part of it, he imagined, was at having his Institute taken over by outsiders - part of it was seeing a Magnus so  _off_ from the Magnus he knew. "There doesn't seem to be much point in asking who you are, so how about we start with where you came from?"

"A.L.I.C.E.!" Magnus answered, the abruptness and brightness of his reply startling the Shadowhunters.

They remained quiet, staring at him and waiting for him to elaborate, but he never did - he simply continued staring right back at them, at Alec in particular, as if he expected something out of them. "Uh, right," Alec finally replied, still wholly unsure how to interact with this Magnus such that he didn't... hurt him, or something? "And who, exactly, is 'Alice'?"

"Not 'who'," Magnus patiently replied, "but 'what'. A.L.I.C.E. is the Anonymously Linked Intelligence Communications Exchange, an interdimensional network which connects approximately one thousand, seven hundred and fifty-two different worlds." He blinked, a look of surprise flickering across his face, and then was smiling again as he corrected, "Well, one thousand, seven hundred and fifty-three, including  _this_ world. But, I do not believe this world has been fully initialized yet... ?"

He'd turned to Simon, who was beaming at him like a proud father - a dynamic that made the Shadowhunters quirk their heads, to say the least. "That's right, Mag my man!" He shot Magnus a gun-finger, a gesture that appeared to startle and confuse Magnus, then turned to address the Shadowhunters. "See, in order to a world to make full use of A.L.I.C.E.'s services, it has to be registered, and a proper Terminal needs to be established. You guys don't have any, so A.L.I.C.E. dropped us off here, determining this to be the most secure location near our target."

Jace spoke up next, folding his arms across his chest and sporting an incredulous look. "Your 'target'? And just who exactly would  _that_ be?"

At that, the whole group seemed to tense - save for Magnus, who still wore his empty smile. Eventually, the other Clary's eyes shifted to look at Clary's, and with an apologetic hesitance she replied, "It's... It's my brother, Jonathan..."

Clary and Jace exchanged a quick look. "The guy from the coffee shop," she muttered lowly. Alec turned a frown over his shoulder at her. "It was definitely him," she explained, this being the first chance she actually had to tell him about their little scouting mission. Returning to their counterparts, she continued, "But, he didn't look like Jonathan."

Alec crossed the distance remaining between him and the command table, nudging himself awkwardly through the group and narrowly avoiding bumping shoulders with the other Alec. "Here, is this the guy?" he asked, reaching out and tapping the table. The man who'd set off their alerts appeared on the table's display, the latest readings on his status and whereabouts listed beside his picture.

"Yeah," the other Clary murmured, brow furrowed. As the other Shadowhunters gathered around the table, they formed an odd medley of intermingled doubles, save of course for Simon and Magnus. "But, I don't get it," she continued, addressing Clary. "All of us look identical, save for those... tattoos," she replied with a shudder. "Your brother doesn't look like this?"

"No," Clary replied, reaching out to tap a different portion of the table. She swiftly rifled through some menus, bringing up the face the Shadowhunters had come to know as Jonathan. "This is what he looks like in our world."

The other Izzy frowned. " _Him_?" The amount of scoffing disbelief in her voice surprised the Shadowhunters, and so she explained, "In our world, that guy's just some wackjob bio nerd. Last I'd heard, he was working on a rat shelter, because he didn't like people shooting the ones that keep getting in the generators. What was his name... Sebastian, I think?"

Izzy's eyes widened with realization. "Of course!" Turning to her comrades, she continued, "Our Jonathan looks like that because he's glamoured, and his natural appearance is burned to all hell. No one in our world's ever actually seen what he would have grown up to look like."

"Oh, right," Clary murmured, her eyes falling back down to the stranger displayed upon the table. She felt strange, staring at a future she couldn't have and feeling guilty for even wanting it.

While she circled in her contemplation, the other Jace nodded to Jace with a smirk. "So, what about  _your_ Sebastian? He a rat-hugger here, too?"

"No," Jace replied sharply. "He's—"

"Perhaps?" Simon suddenly interjected, drawing shock from both Jaces and the rest of the Shadowhunters. With all those eyes on him, he shied into himself a bit, the other Jace's brow furrowing and his hand moving to touch his elbow. Simon's eyes flickered between Jace and Clary, and he began to look a touch ill. "...Perhaps," he finally continued with a swallow, "we should avoid disclosing too many details about our individual worlds." After having said it, he turned to the other Alec. "One of A.L.I.C.E.'s conditions for allowing us here is that we minimize our cross-dimensional impact. If we know too much about..." He hesitated, eyes flickering back at Jace and Clary. "...about ourselves in each other's worlds, about the differences, things like the... the um... manner of our passing... it could result in irrevocable alterations."

Clary realized what he was talking about and offered a kindly smile. "Oh, no! Simon, you're not _dead_  in this world."

Simon perked up at that. "I'm not?"

Jace parted his lips to say something - _technically_  speaking... - but Clary jabbed him in the side with her elbow and stressed, "No, you're not. You're just not _here_. And we're still—"

"He's still right," the other Alec interrupted. With narrowed eyes, Alec noticed he'd let go of Magnus's hand, and in fact was giving Magnus a bit of a cold shoulder. It earned himself a quietly saddened look, a bit hurt and a bit disappointed, and though he didn't seem to notice it made Alec want to clock his twin clear across his jaw. "As much as we can, we should avoid divulging any more personal details than are absolutely necessary for the job."

" _Now_  you're sounding like my brother," Izzy bemusedly remarked. She passed Alec a smirk. "Remember when you were like that? All 'focus on the mission'?"

But what he'd already noticed about the other Alec and his Magnus had made him too moody for humor. "In any case," he said, fixing a hard glare on the other Alec, "You guys are here to deal with your Jonathan?"

"Yeah," the other Alec replied with a glower of his own. "His presence here is in violation of transdimensional law, and we've been charged with dragging him back to our world." His merciless look shifted to Clary. "That's not going to be a problem, is it?"

Clary scoffed, in large part to fight off his aggression. "Hardly. Let's just say I'm not overly attached to him." She nodded to Jace. "We were tracking him earlier. Damn near put a sword through his chest - would have, if he weren't Mundane."

The other Jace raised a brow at them. "With _t_ _hose_ primitive things?" he chuckled, eyeing their Seraph blades. "I doubt you would have accomplished much. That creep's probably using _StarStrata_ 's latest interweave suits. Not yet available to the public, _of course_."

The other Clary rolled her eyes, but turned to her counterpart. "You guys keep saying that word - 'mundane.' What do you mean?"

"What, A.L.I.C.E. didn't tell you?" Alec mused. It felt good to finally have the upper hand on something, whether or not the invaders conceded the point. "It's what we call regular human beings. They're neither Nephilim, like us, nor Downworlders - those with demonic blood. They're—"

"Normal?"

Alec looked up to find Magnus's empty smile turned his way. The sight unnerved him, like he were facing a husk of the man he loved, somehow lifeless and present at once. Beside him, the other Alec's eyes were regarding Magnus with something like worry, or maybe even guilt. Alec buried his curiosity and awkwardly replied, "Er, yeah, you could say that." Unsurprisingly, it earned him a glare from the other Alec, but neither of them remarked on it.

"Wait, wait," the other Jace was chuckling, lifting a hand and pointing at Jace. "You guys are all 'Nephilim'? As in, 'half-Angel'?"

Jace rose a brow, his hands tightening on the edge of the command table. "Yeah," he replied in challenge. "What of it?"

"Nothing!" the other Jace insisted, waving it off. "Just not what I'd expect of  _us_. You and I must have lived  _very_ different lives."

"Lives that we  _won't_ be getting into," the other Clary reminded him.

"Oh, come on," he griped. "It's all in the past, right? What's the harm in  _that_?"

"I, for one, would like to know if he's going to be a liability," Izzy remarked with a pointed glare. "I don't know how things are over in your world, but here? We're supposed to remain hidden from the Mundanes. Just  _having_ you all here puts us at risk."

The other Jace rolled her eyes at her. Somehow, he managed to be even more infuriating than Jace. "Relax, Hot Stuff." A knowing hand deflected the other Izzy's slap by her wrist. "I was a street osser, is all." When all he got was blank looks, he shook his head and clarified, "A druggie. Chased whatever cheap high I could get my hands on, until I got my hands on—"

"They  _get it_ , Jace," the other Alec grumbled. He looked at Jace so sharply it made him glance at Alec, as if he needed the reassurance his  _actual_ parabatai wasn't pissed at him. "What about you? Anything we should know about?"

Glaring at the other Alec made Jace uncomfortable, but he forced himself to manage it.  _It's not really Alec. It's basically an entirely different person, just like that Jace._ "Jonathan, Clary and I were all experimented on by their dad." With a more sympathetic look, he turned to the other Clary. "Jonathan took their dad's side of things. If Clary and I seem quick to snap at your brother, that's why - just a bit of history with hers."

"Fair enough," the other Clary sighed with a shrug. "We  _do_ need to bring him back alive, though. What happens to him beyond that is out of our hands."

"You have our support," Alec offered. "Our own Jonathan was trouble enough, we have no interest keeping _another_  one around. But, first..." His eyes flickered to the metal bat hanging from the other Izzy's jacket, then trailed down to the giant wolf seated beside the other Alec, now perfectly quiet and still. "...mind catching us up on all this... _tech_... ?"

The other Alec looked like he was about to snap again, but the other Izzy spoke first, passing her brother a wink. "Of course. What do you want to know?"

Beside her, Izzy extended a delicate finger to stroke the little bat's head, beaming as it subtly nuzzled into her touch. " _Everything_!"

* * *

Alec sighed, firing off a text to Magnus. He'd tried his best to explain what was going on at the Institute, but he imagined it was probably difficult to follow along - even in person, he'd had a bit of trouble keeping up. Eventually, though, the group of lookalikes - "ossers," as they'd called themselves - managed to explain everything well enough to earn the Shadowhunters' trust, and along with it a place to stay.

It was all very odd, to say the least, but certain parallels to this world helped ground it in familiarity. The ossers used what essentially amounted to drug patches that delivered power-infused nanobots and chemicals directly into their blood streams. These OS patches worked just like Runes, even leaving behind temporary black marks upon their skin.

They didn't appear to have anything similar to Downworlders, but they did have something kind of close to that, maybe. Some ossers were specialists, training in a specific line of OS patches. Simon, for example, was "just a hacker" - from their standpoint, though, the way his shoes let him fly around the Institute made him look more like some kind of tech wizard. Alec and Izzy, meanwhile, were Cryomancers, each of them paired with their own Cryodoll through their metal bracers. Alec commanded the wolf, Lucian, and Izzy commanded the bat, Raphael. He'd inwardly chuckled at what their own Luke and Raphael would think of that.

But then, there was Magnus.

_"What about you?" Clary had asked upon a warm smile. "You don't have any of those lines like the others, and you're certainly not made of metal. But, your eyes—"_

_"He's just 'Magnus'!" the other Alec had snapped._

_Magnus, who'd shied up behind him, had raised a smile, but Alec could tell he was hurt. "Yes," he'd replied in his strange, even tone. "Just 'Magnus'."_

Simon was the one who'd suggested they all retire for a bit. He, the other Izzy, and Raphael needed to "register the atmo levels," as he'd put it, so they had some time before they even  _could_ head out in search of Jonathan anyway. The other Clary went with the other Jace into one room, both of them whispering something in Simon's ears before they departed, and the other Alec took Magnus to another, not uttering another word to  _anyone_. Between his grating behavior and the way he was treating Magnus, Alec knew something was up, and fully intended on putting an end to it - for Magnus's sake, if no one else's.

About a half-hour had passed before Alec finally made his way to their room, unsure just what he'd say but certain he had to say  _something_. After taking a moment to compose himself, he approached their door and lifted his fist...

...and was met with a sudden thump.

He frowned, looking to the side. It'd definitely come from inside, only a foot or so away from the door. Concern renewed, he pressed his ear against the door- given their earlier behavior, he harbored a very real worry the other Alec might do something he'd regret to Magnus. What he  _hadn't_ expected was to hear Magnus's hesitant voice and scuffling feet.

"Ah! S-Sorry, Alexander!"

He heard the other Alec sigh, and then the brush of something against the wall - his jacket, Alec guessed, as he moved away?

_So... Magnus pushed him, not the other way around... ?_

"It's fine, I'm alright. I told you, though - you have to stop apologizing all the time!"

"Sorry..."

" _Magnus_..."

Alec listened as their footsteps drew nearer each other, and then more sounds betrayed the shifting of clothes against each other - they were hugging?

_Wait, they **are** together? But, the way Alec was acting... ?_

"You have to get better at this," the other Alec was whispering. To Alec's surprise, he sounded gentle and somber, nothing like he'd seemed back at the command table. "People don't say 'sorry' for every little thing."

"I know. I am trying."

"I know you are. I don't mean to be harsh, I just..."

"I do not think the others would say anything."

"No, but Jonathan would. Criminal or not, it's a serious enough offense that they'd take his word for it, and..." A silence passed between them, one so tense Alec swore he could reach out and touch it. "...I can't loose you again, Magnus. I  _won't_."

"No, you will not," Magnus chuckled, his voice muffled, like his face was nestled into the crook of the other Alec's neck. "I pro—"

The sudden break startled even Alec. He leaned further into the door, trying to figure out what had happened, but then it suddenly fell away from the flat of his face, replaced an instant later with the cold, hard press of a barrel's end. He froze, lips pursed and hands raised, eyes slowly shifting to eye his twin through the threshold.

The other Alec was bright red, but with pure rage rather than the embarrassment Alec had expected. "You utter a  _single word_ of this to anyone, and I'll paint the walls with you. Got it?!"

Alec stared at him incredulously, but nonetheless slowly nodded, then backed away when the other Alec finally lowered his blaster. "Look, I'm on your side," he started. "I won't—"

"I don't give a shit," the other Alec snarled. Deeming the conversation over with, he stormed out of the room and passed Alec, marching intently back towards the ops center.

Magnus stared at Alec, still and frightened. He seemed uncertain, like he wanted to trust Alec with anything and everything but was struggling to resist, to obey the other Alec's request not to.

Perhaps that could be his in?

"Magnus, I—"

"Thank you for your concern, Alexander," Magnus suddenly replied, bowing low. It was such a stiff and unexpected gesture it threw Alec completely off-guard. He was still blankly staring when Magnus stood up again, his hollow smile in place. "Please, do not worry. Everything will be fine."

If Alec wanted to say anything more, he wouldn't get the chance. Just like that, Magnus turned and walked swiftly down the hall, and then he, too, was gone from sight.


	3. It Has Begun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > _But everyone knows by now_   
>  _Fairy tales are not found_   
>  _They're written in the walls_
> 
> \- [_Starset, It Has Begun_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZp3Mtn-YsI&list=PLk6BQLseS5iYVCtDmXulkf1u6f5BarYIP&index=3)

It was late afternoon by the time the ossers at last gathered in the Institute's lobby, ready to head out in search of Jonathan. Even still, as Alec pulled open the heavy wooden door, they all recoiled, arms raised to shield their eyes from the harsh light of the setting sun.

"What _is_  that?!" the other Izzy hissed through her teeth.

"I thought you two said it was safe?!" the other Jace complained in reply.

Clary blinked at them. "It's _the sun_ ," she eventually gawked. "Don't you guys have a sun?"

In order to fully recover, they'd all subconsciously shuffled away from the door and turned their faces away from the outside. As he lowered his arms, Simon tried to explain. "Sure, but no one's actually seen it in nearly a century." As he began rummaging through the pockets of his forest-green cargo pants, he continued, "Once we figured out how to use crystals as a power source, technology kind of exploded. Things got out of hand pretty quick, and uh..." He found what he was looking for - some kind of cylindrical device no larger than his palm - and looked up at his friends. They'd all grown quiet and withdrawn, save of course for Magnus, so he found a kinder way to conclude his brief history lesson. "Well, let's just say Mother Gaia wasn't too appreciative of it. Our cities protect us from the elements now - including direct sunlight - and no one's permitted outside the city walls during the day. Aside from, like, the trains, of course."

Clary looked to Jace. "That must be why Jonathan was all bundled up." To the others, she elaborated, "Covered practically head-to-toe between his coat, gloves, and sunglasses."

Jace scoffed. "And here I thought he was just trying to be cool."

The other Jace grinned wickedly. " _That_  creep? You could dump him in a vat of liquid nitrogen and he _still_  wouldn't be cool."

The other Clary leaned her head back, groaning while she slapped a small slip of paper to the back of her neck. "Ugh, _can_  we? I'm getting real tired of cleaning up after Dad's shit."

The Shadowhunters all watched in rapt curiosity as the ossers applied their patches, all in the same location as the other Clary. A series of three horizontal lines extended around their necks from a central channel that ran along their spines. At some point up their scalps, it must have either forked or come to a T, because next a pair of lines extended out from their hairlines, tracing smoothly along their temples. When the lines were done stretching, circles rounded their ends, and suddenly a soft sheen flickered across their skin.

Meanwhile, Simon had placed his device at the center of his collar and pressed a button. Immediately, more metallic structure slid out from its ends and formed a band around his neck. "ScreenOS," he explained, gesturing towards his friends. The back of his band rose up along the back of his head, and then a thin, clear surface snapped around his face - glass, perhaps, except that it seemed far too slight. "The nanites give off a constant, low-range counterwave. It essentially works like sunblock, negating radiation waves from the sun by the time they get too close."

"Right," Jace replied, not even trying to follow. "And  _that_ thing is... ?"

As Simon zipped up his black leather jacket, leaving only a sliver of his neck exposed, he ended up looking something like a motorcyclist. He grinned through the pearlescent sheen of his helmet. "Oh, just part of my gear. There's vents built in to regulate air pressure and oxygen flow while I fly."

Alec did a double-take. "Wait, while you  _what_?"

Simon just grinned, then waved to his friends as he jogged towards the outdoors. "Catch you guys on comms!" The very instant he reached the Institute's threshold, green light began to whir around his shoes, and suddenly he kicked off into the sky without ever touching foot upon the pavement.

Izzy gawked after him. "Are you  _kidding_ me?"

The other Jace was glowering after him, arms folded tight across his chest. "Yeah. I  _hate_ it when he does that."

_[-Oh, shut up!-]_ Simon's voice sounded in the ossers' ears.  _[-You know you love me!-]_

The other Clary's eyes warily flickered to Jace before she remembered the Shadowhunters weren't on the comms. She quickly looked away with a relieved sigh, directing her face away from anyone so they'd know she was speaking to Simon. "Just let us know when you've gotten into the traffic circuits."

Clary nudged Alec. "So when do  _we_ get comms? Looks like they'd really help with the demon hunting."

Alec rolled his eyes. "I'll file your request with the Clave," he sarcastically replied. Though, she wasn't wrong - that kind of tech  _would_ really help with their jobs. For all the advances angelic and demonic energies provided Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike, the Shadow World overall absolutely still proved lacking in certain, key areas. He thought to comment further on the matter, but as the ossers finished loading in their ScreenOS, he caught the other Alec eyeing Magnus, and then himself realized Magnus hadn't applied a patch of his own. The other Alec seemed to be grasping for some way to sweep the matter under the rug, but after what he'd witnessed outside their door? Alec wouldn't give him the chance.

"What's wrong?" Alec spoke up, suddenly and firmly enough that it surprised both the Shadowhunters and the ossers. With a nod towards Magnus to make sure no one could mistake his meaning, he asked, "Don't you have a patch for him?"

The other Izzy, Jace, and Clary all looked between the other Alec and Alec, wide-eyed but quiet, uncertain what to do or say. At the other Alec's feet, the robotic wolf deepened its stance and bared its teeth - Alec could tell from the angling of its brow that the thing had designated him as a threat. The other Alec moved his braced hand to his side, signaling Lucian to stand down, but his own expression remained firm, his unwavering glare fixed upon Alec.

"He doesn't need one," the other Alec replied, his tone one of explicit challenge.

"He doesn't?" Clary asked, clearly confused. "But his skin isn't any more adjusted to our atmosphere than yours, right?"

She practically jumped out of her shoes from how suddenly and harshly the other Alec turned his snarl on her. "That doesn't  _matter_ , because Magnus isn't  _going_."

At that, the other ossers frowned, silently searching each other for answers, and Magnus grew quiet, his whole manner deflating. By now, even Jace was starting to be bothered by the peculiar relationship between him and the other Alec. Belatedly, but without ever actually looking at Magnus, the other Alec seemed to realize how his words had affected Magnus, and he turned to address him, hands finding Magnus's shoulders and his voice completely shifting to one of gentle sincerity.

"We need you here," he replied in a manner far kinder than any he'd used with anyone else, his fellow ossers included. He lowered his head a bit to capture Magnus's feline eyes, then offered an encouraging smile. "We still don't know what Jonathan's doing here, or how he got here. A.L.I.C.E. is our best chance at retrieving that information, and she'll only respond to someone from our world."

A tense silence followed, during which Alec felt a mild guilt at having brought all this up. He'd only wanted to try and force the other Alec's hand, to set him up to where he  _had_ to explain what the hell was up with him and Magnus, but in doing so it somehow all got redirected onto Magnus. Everything seemed to, Alec thought bitterly, and it made him want to put a stop to the other Alec's behavior that much more.

"Doing this... will be helpful... ?" Magnus quietly asked, his eyes finally lifting to look the other Alec in the eye.

In that moment, Alec got an idea. This whole time, he'd been trying to get information through his twin. But, with the other Alec gone and Magnus straying behind... without the other Alec shutting him up and bossing him around...

"Yes," the other Alec assured him. Alec, meanwhile, remained silent, averting his gaze lest he accidentally betray his aims. "Returning Jonathan to our world is only half of the problem. We need to find whatever breach he used to slip through to this world and make sure neither he nor anyone else uses it ever again. Besides..." In a rare show of genuine affection, a beaming smile broke out across the other Alec's face. "...A.L.I.C.E. came to  _you_ , first. There's no one better for the job than you."

_[-Um, excuse me? You know I can hear you, right? Do you have any idea how long I spent in the Institute's archives researching interdimensional theory for my senior thesis?! My paper got submitted to the Inquisitor herself for its proposals on trans-dimensional law! I—-]_

" _Shut it_ , Simon," the other Jace hissed under his breath.

Without a comm of his own, Magnus couldn't hear Simon, and he was too wholly consumed with the other Alec to hear Jace, his expression brightening with every word the other Alec offered him. There was even a trace of a blush coloring his cheeks, one which made Alec grit his teeth out of what he refused to admit was jealousy. "Very well, Alexander. I would be happy to stay here and work with A.L.I.C.E. on determining the nature of Jonathan's interdimensional travel."

The other Alec sighed with relief, then pulled Magnus in to a tight hug. Magnus seemed startled by this, his eyes momentarily flickering towards Alec before he stiffly returned the gesture, a quaint smile frozen upon his lips. The whole display weirded the Shadowhunters out more than they could rightly express - Alec simply took comfort in knowing he'd soon be able to get some answers.

"Alright," the other Alec replied, a hand lingering upon Magnus's arm as he turned to address his friends. "Magnus isn't on comms with us, meaning our only tether to him will be A.L.I.C.E. Simon, make sure you keep an open link to her so Magnus can send us anything he finds, and we can keep him updated with our status." He turned to the other Izzy next, and the little bat she held preciously in her hands. "We'll use Raph's magpulse to sweep ahead for any traces of cryotech, and Lucian can scout out any leads Raph picks up."

Next, he turned to Alec, startling the Head of the Institute out of his thoughts. "You said Jonathan set off... some kind of alarm?"

Alec nodded, looking to Clary and Jace. "Yeah. That's how we knew he was around." Addressing the other Alec again, he continued, "Magnus can alert you guys if Jonathan trips it again. Last time, there was a demon in the area - whatever Jonathan's doing here, there's a chance he's attracting demons, so I'll probably dispatch someone to the location to take care of any that decide to show up."

The other Jace choked on his laughter. "I still can't believe you guys actually run around 'hunting' that crap." The Shadowhunters had shared just as much about their unique talents and occupation as the ossers had. Unfortunately, without a demon on-hand to show and tell, the whole thing had been a rather difficult sell.

The other Alec shared a snicker, patting his friend on the back and signaling the group to move out. "Alright, come on. Let's find you some wheels." He lingered behind as the others stepped beyond the Institute's threshold, each of them marveling the brilliant sun above in one way or another. Just before he made his departure as well, he turned back to Magnus, hesitated, then pulled him into another tight hug.

This time, Magnus took to the gesture far more eagerly, though his eyes were still carefully avoiding the Shadowhunters. His head tilted slightly, apparently listening to something the other Alec was whispering in his ear. Whatever it was, it made Magnus's eyes grow wide and his cheeks flush with color. He quickly nodded and shied away as their embrace concluded, head bowed slightly and lips unable to fully banish a tiny, giddy smile.

The other Alec was, unsurprisingly, glaring at Alec again. "You take care of him, alright? If _anything_  happens to Magnus..."

The other Shadowhunters held back soft chuckles at this, earning a confused look from the other Alec, and Alec replied with a grin. "Don't worry. I won't let him out of my sight."

The other Alec narrowed his eyes at that, but didn't say anything more on the matter. He turned and left the Institute, Lucian clambering noisily along at his heels, soon joining up with the rest of the ossers in their search for a vehicle to hijack.

Magnus continued staring after the other Alec in his standard, strange way, himself drawing stares from the Shadowhunters. If it bothered him, he didn't show it, nor even appeared to have noticed it. As soon as the other Alec disappeared from view down the street, Magnus abruptly turned on a heel and strode swiftly towards the command table, failing to offer the Shadowhunters so much as a single word in acknowledgement.

To say the least, it bristled Alec, the others following close behind as he joined Magnus at the table. "So... what now?" he asked, trying to start things off on as best - or, least awkward, at least - a note as possible. He was met with mixed results, Magnus pausing and turning his head to stare at him. Slowly, his head tilted, and Alec realized Magnus was waiting for him to say something - perhaps the question had been too open-ended? So, he elaborated, "You need to... 'speak' with A.L.I.C.E., right? How does that work?"

Alec's gesturing had drawn Magnus's eyes to his hand, and pulled a small smile across his thin lips. A fondness seemed to come over him, and he happily replied, "I am sorry, I forgot you are not yet familiar with A.L.I.C.E. She is a highly advanced and fully autonomous artificial intelligence. One initiates a connection to A.L.I.C.E. by simply speaking to her through a Terminal. In lieu of a Terminal, as is the case with this world, we can use the temporary Bridge A.L.I.C.E. established to send us here." He lifted his face and spread wide his arms, marveling at the room around him like a child first experiencing a star-filled night. "That is, this very room."

His gestures and mannerisms were fascinating, to say the least. In every way, he behaved how they might expect a robot to behave, but he was clearly made of flesh and bone - he _couldn't_  be a Cryodoll, certainly not without an accompanying Cryomancer anyway. Alec continued pondering this as he waved for the other Shadowhunters to return to their duties, a silent acknowledgement passing between them all that he'd have sufficient handle on this bizarre version of Magnus. With Jace, he shared a longer, lingering look, his parabatai clearly unsettled by everything that had come to pass - Alec assured him as much as he could with a small smile before looking back at Magnus.

The odd man was staring blankly at him again, an empty smile placed upon his face. He'd waited patiently for the return of Alec's attention, and now that he had it he referred to the command table with an elegant hand. "There is no way for me to be sure, but I believe A.L.I.C.E. has connected herself to this world through this device. May I use it, for the purposes of assisting in my friends' mission?"

"Uh... yeah, sure. Of course," Alec replied, waving at the table. It was funny hearing Magnus's voice refer to the ossers as "friends" - not that _his_  Magnus didn't like the other Shadowhunters, he just wasn't quite so... _mushy_  about it. "It won't interrupt the Institute's demon scans, will it?"

Magnus, still smiling, shook his head. "I do not believe so. A.L.I.C.E. exists as an overlay upon our worlds, a digital projection of sorts. She does not require use of the world's networks and systems." With their exchange concluded, Magnus's face shifted back to regard the command table, his splayed hand extending out to hover a few inches above its surface. In a clear and even voice, he spoke, "This is Passenger Identification: Magnus Bane, requesting A.L.I.C.E. bridge link."

For a moment, it seemed like nothing would happen. Soon enough, however, a gentle, blue light swelled all throughout the ops center. Alec quickly twisted about to check the Shadowhunters roaming the Institute - to his relief, unlike before, their movements in and out of the ops center remained unimpeded.

> _WELCOME, MAGNUS BANE._

The same, female voice from before sounded throughout the room, drawing Alec's attention back to the command table. He'd expected to see... well, _something_ , but only the faint blue light betrayed A.L.I.C.E.'s presence.

> _CONSOLE OR HOST?_

"Console, please," Magnus cheerily replied.

Suddenly, the blue light condensed, rapidly collapsing upon Magnus. It formed a translucent cylinder around him, like he was standing in some kind of digital phone booth, and a small screen pulled across the air about a foot from his face. It was perfectly sized to his field of vision, and though Magnus remained perfectly still Alec suspected the screen would remain centered if he ever decided to turn his face.

> _CONSOLE INITIATED. SERVICE CLEARANCE: PASSENGER. NOW ENTERING SERVICE MODE._

It took Alec a moment to realize A.L.I.C.E. was finished talking. He frowned curiously at Magnus, watching all manner of text, images, and shapes fly across his screen. Eventually, it dawned on him that Magnus was controlling the thing using thought alone - fascinating, Alec thought, and incredibly convenient. He chuckled, captivated by the odd display.

Suddenly, Simon's voice broke the silence. _[-Yo! Magnus, that you, buddy?-]_

The question appeared to momentarily confuse Magnus. "Of course it is. I am the only Passenger still at the Institute."

_[-Er, right, of course. Anyway, I don't really have anything interesting to rep— **shut up** , Jace! I'm talking to Magnus! Alec, could you...?-]_ An awkward silence followed, and then a relieved sigh. _[- **Thank**  you. What was I saying... ? Right! Nothing to report yet, unfortunately. I got into traffic control pretty easily - can you believe these people don't even have RemSense?! ...Oh, you probably don't, uh... Nevermind. In any case, Jonathan's still ghost. I mean, we haven't seen him yet! Uh... I'll let you know if we pick up on anything, alright?-]_

Magnus smiled. "Thank you, Simon. I shall do the same if my research proves fruitful."

_[-Thanks, man! Muting my end - expect hourly status check-ins.-]_  As soon as he said that, the line went silent.

"Confirmed. I shall also mute my side of the link. Please let everyone know I wish them 'good luck'!" There was no response to Magnus's request, but this didn't appear to bother him any. One of the windows on his screen shrank into the upper-left area, reducing to a small icon of Simon's face, and an instant later more images and fields of text began appearing upon the screen, sweeping around and scrolling and closing as Magnus willed them to.

_He must be researching Jonathan now_ , Alec realized. He leaned around to try and get a better look, but everything was too blurred by the blue haze for him to glean anything discernible from the documents. So, instead, Alec sighed and gave Magnus a small wave. "I'll be around. Let me know if you need anything, alright?"

Magnus's face snapped over to him - Alec was right about the screen following him around. The items he'd been reviewing swept to the sides of his vision, revealing a bright, even excited expression for just a moment before it slowly faded away, returning his face to a vacant albeit pleasant stare. "Oh," he replied, and in that single word Alec realized Magnus had hoped it'd been the other Alec, _his_  Alec, who'd spoken. It irked him somewhat, but he left it alone for now - best to keep things pleasant between them until Alec finally breached the topic of this Magnus's relationship with the other Alec. "Thank you, Alexander. I shall alert you should any such need arise."

And with that, Magnus looked away and returned to his research, somehow so close and yet so distant all at once.


	4. Dark On Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > _I call your name as I walk alone_   
>  _Send a signal to guide me home_   
>  _Light the night up, you're my dark star_   
>  _And now you're falling away_
> 
> _-[Starset, Dark on Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yntDx4Y4baw&index=4&list=PLk6BQLseS5iYVCtDmXulkf1u6f5BarYIP)_

_[-Good afternoon, listeners! This is your host, DJ Simon, LIVE from downtown New York City!!!-]_

"Simon, I believe you may be confused?"

_[-I... What? No, Magnus, I... Oh, nevermind. Anyway, everyone's found their posts. Raph finished and found something in an alley - Izzy's checking it out, but no luck so far. She says it doesn't look very developed, though. Might be some kind of protoype?-]_

"I see. I will see if A.L.I.C.E. has any documentation on _StarStrata_ 's most recent projects."

_[-Good call. We might be looking at something off-the-books, though. Can you also retrieve whatever public records are available on their most recent material orders?-]_

"Ah, yes, of course! Perhaps if Isabelle knows what the device is made of, she and Alexander can reverse-engineer it and determine its function that way?"

_[-Bingo! Alright, my main man, I'll hit you up in an hour!-]_

"But, Simon, I am not your—"

Simon's sigh proved loud enough to draw the attention of a few Shadowhunters passing by the Ops Center.  _[-Just... Nevermind, Magnus. Signing off!-]_

"Good bye, Simon!"

* * *

_[-Mag--s? M---us, c--- in! C-- you --ar me?-]_

Magnus blinked, a subtle worry sifting across his features. "Simon?" he replied, A.L.I.C.E.'s communicator window surfacing above his research panels. "Is everything alright? It has not yet been—"

_[-M--nus! Don'- --me d----own!-]_

"S-Simon, you're breaking up! I... I can't understand..." As Magnus's worry deepened, his whole body tensed. From where they'd been lingering on the metal catwalk, Alec and the other Shadowhunters craned their necks with furrowed brows, insatiably curious about what was going on.

A.L.I.C.E.'s display shifted, as though taking Magnus's thoughts as direction to make what adjustments it could to clarify the signal. Presumably, Simon was doing something similar on his end, though it was impossible to tell. Whatever happened, it worked, somewhat, as Simon managed to get in a few more words, painfully clearer than before.

_[-Crystals!-]_ he was stressing, mid-sentence.  _[-It- ----thing to do ---- Cryo----!!!-]_

Suddenly, the window blinked out, leaving behind only Magnus's extensive panels on  _StarStrata_ 's recent endeavors. "Simon? ... _Simon_!" he cried out, hands subconsciously gripping the edge of the command table. For a few moments, the silence held, A.L.I.C.E.'s console completely still in reflection of Magnus's thoughtless state.

Finally, Alec braved the distance between them, breaking away from the others to approach the table. "Magnus, is... is everything alright?" he asked, uncertainly glancing between Magnus and A.L.I.C.E.

Magnus's eyes snapped over to him, and then he suddenly started, releasing the table and stumbling back a few paces. "A-Alexander!" he cried, wide-eyed. For a brief moment, a brightness passed over his features, but reality swallowed it up soon enough. Upon realization that this wasn't  _his_ Alexander, his expression sobered back into his unnervingly distilled state, an empty smile placidly placed upon his lips. "I... I am sure everything is fine." As rigidly as he'd spoken, he returned to his research, arms lowering to hang at his sides.

"Uh... Alright..." Alec replied, though he certainly didn't believe it. His gaze trailed down to the edge of the table, and his eyes widened to find a pair of hand-shaped in the table's frame. He pursed his lips, but for now merely took his leave, silently pondering just how strong - and just how  _frightened_  - Magnus had to be to bend solid metal like that.

* * *

By the time Alec came back around a short while later, Magnus had taken to anxiously pacing back and forth along the command table, A.L.I.C.E.'s console diligently following so it remained stubbornly centered in front of his face. At this point, Alec was done turning a blind eye to the whole thing - enough was enough. Brow set into a firm scowl, he marched up to the table, coming up directly in Magnus's path so the odd man would have no choice but to stop and pay attention to him. "Magnus, what is going  _on_?"

It startled Magnus enough to make him jump. Immediately, he banished the digital console windows, like a teenager who'd just been caught browsing naughty websites. "W-What?" he stammered, staring wide-eyed up at Alec.

Had he been the  _real_ Magnus, Alec might have had a difficult time deciphering his true thoughts. This Magnus, however, was as open and vulnerable as a newborn kitten, completely unable to mask himself. Perhaps it didn't occur to him that he might need or want to. Perhaps he didn't know  _how_. Alec sighed, mildly frustrated though mostly worried, and laid a hand upon Magnus's shoulder. "Listen, I know you're worried. About..." He gestured awkwardly between himself and the Institute's entrance. "...you know.  _Alexander_." He said the name meaningfully, hoping the emphasis would be enough to remind Magnus he knew there was at least  _some_ kind of romance between the two of them. Given all his interactions with Magnus thus far, however, he rather doubted he'd pick up on it. "Tell me what happened, what made you worried."

Magnus's parted lips trembled. Alec could tell something hung from the tip of his tongue, that there was some great thing he wanted to say but for whatever reason wouldn't - or couldn't. Instead, he bit his lips and turned to the command table, laying his fingertips delicately upon its digital surface. Instantly, A.L.I.C.E.'s console disappeared from its hover around his head, and in its place a map of downtown New York burst to life upon the table. That Magnus, someone from a different dimension, could take control of the Institute's equipment so effortlessly brought a good bit of alarm to Alec and the others as they scurried to join them, but none of them would have the chance to ask about it.

"I have yet to receive further word from Simon," Magnus explained. "It... It's possible he's just waiting another half-hour, since he'd contacted me prior to the scheduled check-in, but..." The map slid across the table, like the view of a drone as it soared across the skyline. As it approached East Harlem, a red dot blinked to life, speeding along Park Ave. Long before it reached the end of Central Park, it split into five separate dots that broke off in different directions, a small picture appearing above each dot: Jace, Clary, Simon, Isabelle, and Alec. The portraits looked like mugshots - presumably, ID photos A.L.I.C.E. had taken upon registering them in her system. Simon's dot ventured only a few blocks before coming to a halt, the others spreading towards different ends of East Harlem. "A.L.I.C.E. was able to track their movements through their comms," he explained, nodding towards the portraits. Suddenly, all five disappeared, and he pointed to a small digital clock blinking in one corner of the map, frozen upon a particular time. "They disappeared shortly after Simon's last communication. That was about—" His eyes flickered to the side, then returned to the map, fixated upon the point where Alec's portrait had disappeared. "—forty minutes ago," he finished softly.

Alec grit his teeth. Regardless of whatever was occurring between this Magnus and the other Alec, it pained him to see Magnus look this way. "Some kind of... interference?" he suggested, trying feebly to help ease Magnus's mind. "Look, if Jonathan had arrived yet, we'd know - the sensors would have gone off. Still..." He turned and nodded to his sister. "Izzy, maybe you can scout the area? And while you're there, check in with—"

"Of course," Izzy quickly replied with a small nod, worried eyes fixated upon Magnus. Just as eager to help out, she already knew exactly what Alec was thinking: that area was close to the Hotel Dumort, so it was possible Raphael might have gotten word from his clan about unusual activity in the area. Out of second-nature, her hand checked to make sure her whip and daggers were in place, and took off for the Institute's doors. "I'll text you if I find anything!"

"In the meantime," Alec continued, removing his hand from Magnus's shoulder to retrieve his phone. He hesitated a moment, glancing warily between it and Magnus, then offered a small smile and turned away. "I'm going to call in some help," he finished, vaguely. "You just hang tight right here and keep doing whatever you can to pick them back up, alright?"

Magnus fidgeted a bit, unsure what Alec was up to - but, ultimately, the others had trusted the Shadowhunters to work out of their Institute, and Alec had trusted them enough to leave him in their care. He put on the best smile he could manage, which admittedly wasn't a very convincing one, and nodded before summoning A.L.I.C.E.'s console back before his eyes. "Very well. Thank you for your assistance, Alexander."

Unsurprisingly, Alec's phone began ringing almost the moment he left the table. Quickly, he answered and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

" _You're lucky I saw your text when I did, Alexander,_ " came the familiar voice through the receiver. " _I was just about to Portal over to Catarina's. What's going on? Is everything alright?_ "

"It's..." Alec began, glancing over his shoulder to where Magnus was already re-buried in a torrent of rapidly opening, closing, and moving console windows. "...It'll be easier to explain in person. Can you come to the Institute?"

" _Right now? Did something happen?_ "

"We're not sure yet, but maybe. Please, just... trust me on this?"

There was a long pause, and then a weary sigh. " _Of course I trust you, Alexander. I'll be right there._ "

Alec released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Thank you. I love you."

" _I love you, too._ "

* * *

Only a few minutes had passed, and yet already Magnus was back to his frantic pacing. With Alec waiting by the Institute's doors, Izzy out checking in with Raphael, and Clary filling Simon in over the phone, it fell to Jace to try and comfort the strange man, a prospect he wouldn't have liked even if he were dealing with the far more familiar Warlock version. "Hey," he replied to announce his arrival, hoping to avoid startling Magnus. The effort was more or less a success - he didn't jump nearly so severely as when Alec had approached earlier, but even still he couldn't help but feel like the look he'd been greeted with held just a  _bit_ too much apprehension.  _What the hell is this guy so afraid of?_ Setting his frustrations aside as best he could, he continued, "We'll find them, okay? Try and... you know, relax a little." He reached up and tapped a finger against his temple. "It'll help you think clearer."

For a moment, Magnus simply stared at him. His hand lifted slightly, a finger pointing to his own temple in subconscious imitation of Jace's gesture. "Think... clearer..." he murmured softly, then looked down at his finger. Suddenly, he looked up, a somehow empty smile plastered across his face. "Thank you, Jace. I have utmost confident in your team's abilities."

It wasn't  _quite_ the response he'd expected, not that he really knew what he  _had_ expected, but it was good enough, he supposed. "Cool. Well, alright then, uh..." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Magnus's arms had taken to wrapping low around his midsection. A part of him really,  _really_ didn't want to get too involved with the guy's issues, but it wasn't enough to stop himself from opening his mouth again. "What's wrong?" he asked, pointing at Magnus's arms. "Are you in pain or something?"

Surprised, Magnus quickly looked in the direction of Jace's indication, then suddenly lowered his arms and appeared to draw into himself - embarrassed by it, apparently. "O-Oh. Um," he mumbled, awkwardly fishing about for words. "Yes, I..." Another moment's hesitation, and then a tiny point towards his stomach, like he worried whether anyone would see him do it. "Here," he replied, yellow eyes lifting to watch Jace imploringly.

It took Jace a second to recognize Magnus was asking him to diagnose his pain, and then that he apparently didn't know what "hunger" was. "...You mean you're  _hungry_?" he gawked, trying to figure how in the world Magnus had gotten to be whatever age he was without articulating that he needed to eat. Almost just as quickly, he decided he'd really rather not know, waving his hand to dismiss the issue. "I'll go grab you a burger or something, okay?" And then, after a second thought, "You're not, like... vegetarian, right?" To Magnus's confused look, he explained, "You know, people who only eat vegetables?"

Magnus considered his words for a bit longer than Jace would have considered reasonable. Just how far removed  _was_ this guy from his own bodily functions? Finally, he warily replied, "I have not eaten vegetables before."

The remark sparked maybe a thousand additional questions - questions Jace defiantly shoved back into their box to be locked up and thrown out and never considered ever again. "Right, sure thing, then," he hurriedly replied before Magnus could say anything else to make the situation even weirder. "One veggie-less burger, coming right up!"

It was right then that a Portal split the air by the Institute's entrance. Jace sighed with relief, then frowned when he saw Magnus abruptly turn and approach Alec and the magic swirling beside him. Another thought occurred to him, one that surely explained all of Magnus's oddity when it came to food but remained unsettling nonetheless.  _Does his Alec... feed him, like a pet? What the hell?_

"This is called a Portal, correct?"

Alec jumped, hearing Magnus's voice beside him. He turned and sighed, unfolding his arms and nodding in response. "Yeah. We sometimes use them to—" But Magnus's face had gone wide, his mouth hanging slightly ajar and his slitted pupils rapidly darting about in frantic survey of whatever he was looking at.

Or, rather,  _who_ he was looking at.

"Um... Alexander... ?"

A kind of dread came over Alec as he turned back to the Portal - where the Portal had been, anyway, now replaced with a tall, lithe man dressed head-to-toe in elegant silk and gleaming jewels. Magnus's colored hair poked out in every direction in a precariously arranged chaos, and bright teal highlighted his eyes against the deep maroon of his lips. Those lips were pursed, his brow set into a frown as he studied the other Magnus. Though he made no mention of it, Alec implicitly knew the Warlock was taking particular notice of the other Magnus's cat eyes, bright and shining and wholly unglamored.

"Alexander," Magnus spoke again, "what is going on?"

But before Alec could reply, the other Magnus suddenly closed in upon him, seizing Magnus's ringed fingers and pulling them close to his face. "You!" he cried, completely unaware of how his sudden action had irked Magnus and Alec both. To his great luck, it didn't bother them for long, soon consumed by the peculiar way he'd taken to poking and prodding Magnus's hand, even stretching the fingers as if testing their range of motion. "You... You are... real... ?"

The other Magnus pinched the back of Magnus's hand, and immediately Magnus yanked himself free with a sharp, "Ow!" Thoroughly irritated, he swept his gaze over the other Magnus once more and scolded, "Yes, of course I'm real! I'm here, aren't I?"

His words proved plenty enough to send the other Magnus shying right back up, his fidgeting hands huddling close to his chest and a deep red flushing his cheeks. "S-Sorry," he stammered. Though he'd come to note Magnus's discomfort, it apparently wasn't enough to soothe his curiosity, his eyes still frantically searching every inch of Magnus's body. "I... What I meant was... You are... You are human... ?" He found enough bravery to look up again, and in the eyes that met Magnus's own the ancient Warlock saw a shining hope far deeper and brighter than he could ever remember seeing in himself. "You breathe? And you bleed? And you... feel... ?"

Magnus's irritation subsided into a concerned confusion. His eyes narrowed and looked to Alec for backup, some clue as to how he should respond. Unfortunately, it seemed Alec was just as surprised as he was by the question, but nonetheless something appeared to dawn on the Shadowhunter, suspicion making its way into his features as he eyed the other Magnus. Without anything more to go on, he awkwardly avoided the other Magnus's questions and recalled Alec's attentions in a single fell swoop. "Perhaps we should get to whatever it was you needed help with? If I recall correctly, it was rather urgent, was it not... ?"

Alec's eyes snapped back to him in a look of apology. His lips parted to reply, but it was the other Magnus's words which rose up.

"Oh! That must be in reference to the disappearance of—" He hesitated for but a moment, but long enough for Alec and Magnus to notice. "—of my friends," he concluded. Before too much of his expression or mannerisms could give him away, he abruptly turned and strode swiftly back toward the table, Alec and Magnus belatedly pursuing him with a bit more effort than they might have expected.

Along the way, Magnus hissed under his breath, "Alexander, what is going  _on_?"

"He's from another dimension," Alec hurriedly explained in a hush. "There's a whole set - even Luke and Raphael, even though they're—"

"This is where they were all last located," the other Magnus unknowingly interrupted. The map from before burst into life atop the command table, complete with the five portraits of their inter-dimensional guests. The display encouraged an intrigued lift of Magnus's brow. Alec rolled his eyes, knowing the unspoken commentary on the Institute's comparatively primitive technology. Completely unaware of the silent exchange, the other Magnus turned on a heel, showering Magnus once more in that unrelentingly hopeful look of his. "A.L.I.C.E. lost contact with them about an hour ago. Alexander said you would be able to help me find them."

Magnus blinked, glancing between his copy and the table. Sure enough, there shone five familiar faces, though they all had subtly unique qualities to them. Of greatest note was the total lack of Marks, though a close second was just how much more... well, aggressively pissed the other Alexander looked compared to his own. "Yes, of... of course," he finally replied, shaking his head and turning back to the other Magnus.  _Hell_ , was it strange talking to himself like this! "I'm not sure how much Alexander told you about me, but I can use magic." When the other Magnus failed to react in any way to this, he continued, "I just need something I can use to track them, something with their... their energy signature, so to speak. Specifically, I need something one of them owns, some kind of personal possession. Seeing as we already have a general area," he added with a nod towards the map, "just about anything will do. Do you have something of theirs?"

A great dread consumed the other Magnus's features, like a sudden storm overtaking a sunny, cloudless sky. "I... I see..." he murmured softly. His brows curved inwards - between that and his eyes, Magnus couldn't help but liken him to an actual kicked kitten. The other Magnus looked desperately between Magnus and Alec. "Is there... no other way... ?"

Magnus couldn't help but feel bad about the whole thing, though he hadn't the foggiest idea why his request should be a problem. "I'm sorry, but... No, not quickly anyway, and not without returning to my loft and scouring through my spellbooks. If time is of the essence, this is our only option." He tilted his head, insatiably curious. "Did they not leave anything here?"

The other Magnus's eyes fell, his hands taking to fidgeting low before his waist. "They do not usually burden themselves with much when they embark on missions - they bring only what is vitally necessary to completing their task. Therefore, most of what you could call their 'possessions' are with them at this moment..."

Alec swallowed, hoping his suspicions were wrong. "...'most'...?"

The other Magnus remained quiet just a stretch longer, then slowly, hesitantly, extended his shaking hands towards Magnus, palms up. His eyes remained glued to the ground as he did, though out of embarrassment, fear, or shame neither of them could tell.

"At this location, there is nothing else but me. I am Alexander's only remaining possession."


	5. End of an Empire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > _A start, an end, a rise and fall_   
>  _No system eternal and no one immortal_   
>  _Creation, all must end in destruction_   
>  _We cannot change the fate of civilization_
> 
> _-[Celldweller, End of an Empire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i4x8PC25nY&t=0s&list=PLk6BQLseS5iYVCtDmXulkf1u6f5BarYIP&index=5)_

Jonathan's dark eyes glinted in the streetlight as he tilted his head back, apparently thoroughly amused by the Ossers' gritted teeth and tense expressions. Each of them held their weapons steady, sights trained upon his chest, but still he chuckled, his hand idly stroking the sectioned back of the bizarre, insect-like creature resting in his arms. Like a cat, it laid still, wholly unbothered by its carrier's whims. Unlike a cat, it stared out with a multitude of glossy, beady eyes, periodically clicked its pincer-teeth at the air, and leaked a thick, dark sludge that reeked of burning refuse. If the smell bothered him, he made no obvious indication of it, nor even of the toxin clinging to his dark gloves.

Altogether, it was enough to set Clary's nerves on fire, stomping forward a step and centering the barrel of her blaster between Jonathan's cocky, taunting eyes. "Enough bullshit, Jonathan!" she yelled, years of hatred dripping like venom from every word. "Your guards are neutralized. We have you surrounded. Comms or not, there's no way you're getting out of this! Drop the act and surrender peacefully, or we  _will_ open fire!"

He merely snickered at her, the thin line of his lips taking on a cruel quirk. "Is  _that_ what you believe?" he scoffed, shaking his head. " _Tsk tsk_ , Little Sister. All this time fighting against the inevitable tide with your little band of Merry Men, and even still you think so little of me? Of _StarStrata_?"

Izzy's eyes flickered to the strange, cage-like contraption at Jonathan's feet. Her fingers crept closer to bracer's console, itching to launch Raphael's toxin strike from where he hung, hidden, in the nearby trees. "I don't like this," she hissed through her teeth.

Beside her, Alec pursed his lips, eyes focused on the thin band handing around Jonathan's neck. It was elegant and beautiful, a tasteful accessory to most - but to him, it was a reminder of one of the worst moments of his life. In his mind, he saw that same device hanging from Valentine's neck, saw  _StarStrata_ 's CryoDolls lining the edges of his vision, saw the brilliant flash of light that had once torn his life to shreds. He tensed, his hand balling into a tight fist and struggling to maintain its careful aim upon the odd contraption - nearby, Lucian's muzzle stretched back into a more severe snarl, and Alec knew his CryoDoll was just as anxious as him to take the damn thing out. "Doesn't make sense," Alec muttered under his breath in reply. "That brace is only compatible with humanoid Crystal signatures. Unless they modified it... ?"

"Then why hasn't he taken them already?" Izzy bit back. "He had plenty of opportunity to when his damn EMP disrupted our links!"

As if inspired by her observation, Jonathan's attentions flickered to the pair of Cryomancers, and he called out to them, "I must say, it is  _quite_ the pleasure to see you, Alexander Lightwood."

Alec's jaw clenched, and it took every ounce of willpower not to launch Lucian right then and there. "Choose your words carefully, asshole!" he yelled in reply. "In particular, you may want to consider the words 'I' and 'surrender'!"

To that, Jonathan threw his head back and laughed, temporarily pausing his affections upon the creature in his arms. "Oh, Alexander! I meant no disrespect. I was merely wondering..." His eyes glinted wickedly as they returned to Alec. "...Where's your little boyfriend?"

The question made all of them wince, casting questioning glances amongst each other - save for Alec, whose snarl worsened even as color flushed his cheeks. "I don't know what the  _hell_ you're talking about."

Jonathan's brow rose in feigned surprise. "Oh? My apologies. I made an assumption, you see, based on..." He trailed off, then wove the matter aside before resuming his idle stroking. "Well, nevermind. It is of no consequence."

Jace took a step closer to him, warily eying the thing in his arms. "What, you trying to blackmail us?" He rose the tip of his laser to the base of Jonathan's head. "The order just demands we bring you alive... Last I checked, you'll survive just fine less your jaw."

Their adversary's manner quieted somewhat, his eyes carefully scaling Jace. Clary frowned - he seemed to be noting Jace's feet in particular, though she couldn't fathom why. It weren't as though Jonathan had ever been any kind of fighter, what with all the guards he and their father were always surrounded by, so he likely couldn't anticipate Jace's attacks through his footwork. Some kind of trap? But, Simon had swept the area earlier, and the only tech in the vicinity was the collar about his throat and the box at his feet...

"Don't worry, Jace," Jonathan purred lowly. "I have no intentions of leaving here anything less than fully intact."

That was about all Jace was willing to take from the young CEO. He let out a cry and charged forward, but not a moment later the roar of rushing wind erupted in the space directly behind Alec and Izzy. It put a sudden halt to his charge and drew everyone's attentions to the spot, equal parts intrigued and alarmed by the odd swirl of light ripping what looked like a hole in the very fabric of reality itself. At first, the Ossers suspected it to be the result of some kind of tech Simon missed in his scan, but such notions were dashed as three figures stepped out of the swirl: Magnus, the other Alec, and... another Magnus?

Alec's breath caught in his throat at the sight. "M-Magnus... ?!" he choked out, eyes flickering between the two figures.

One of them inched subtly closer to the other Alec, a confused frown set to his brow as he looked between everyone gathered before him. If the regularity of his dark eyes weren't enough to disqualify him from being  _their_ Magnus, the other's unguarded, wide-eyed alarm finished the job, his hands lifting and his body immediately launching into a sprint towards Alec. "Alexander!!!" he cried in obvious relief, hardly a thought spared for anything - or any _one_ \- else in the area.

But the other Alec was quicker, catching him by the collar with one hand and drawing his bow with the other. In an imperceptible blink of movement, the Shadowhunter placed himself at the front of the trio and fired an arrow, its runed tip piercing cleanly through the air. Testament to his years of training, the arrow flew straight and true, closing rapidly in on its mark:

The Ravener demon hanging from Jonathan's arms.

But he hadn't noticed the box at Jonathan's feet. And he couldn't have known what it was for. And so he never anticipated Jonathan would drop what seemed to be so precious a bundle. Never would he have suspected Jonathan might abandon the only thing protecting his chest from Alec's arrow, nor that the demon would fall neatly into the contraption at his feat, nor that the very moment it did it'd emit a sudden burst of energy, a shockwave that would shoot out just as the arrow might have pierced his tailored suit jacket.

The force of the wave was enough to deflect the arrow, but that was hardly anyone's biggest concern as the odd surge of energy slammed into each and every one of them. Caught off-guard, the Ossers quickly looked amongst each other for any sign of what might have happened to them, the other Alec and duplicate Magnus doing the same with each other. At first, all seemed normal, and they made to throw their demands and accusations at Jonathan...

"A... lex... !"

All else deserted Alec's mind as he bolted towards Magnus's stiffening body, screaming his name as though doing so might stop the horrifying process that had already claimed half his body. Focussed wholly upon Magnus, he barreled through the other Alec and Magnus's still-confused counterpart, all but throwing them out of his way before colliding against his companion. Already, what had once been flesh was now metal, offering no cushioning against the collision as they both toppled to the ground. Though he'd no doubt find himself littered with bruises later, Alec paid it no mind, a thousand thoughts firing in rapid, frantic succession.

_Action now. Questions later._

The gleam had faded from Magnus's cat-eyes. Subtle lines slid along his joints, perceptible only to a trained eye. His posture straightened, all expression fading from his face. His clothes hung loose about his chest, no longer suspended by the expansion of periodic breathing.

Magnus was reverting. Jonathan had that collar. If Alec wasn't quick--

The other Ossers had surrounded them a moment later, various mixtures of alarm, rage, and confusion decorating their faces. Wanting to help but unable to, they could only watch as Alec's hand flew across the console braced to his arm, unknowingly rocking back and forth over Magnus's motionless form.

"What's going on?!" the other Alec at last demanded, one arm subconsciously raised in a kind of guard around the other Magnus. The sight of Magnus laying upon the ground, perfectly still, and Alec's urgency, had set them both on edge, even though there was no logical reason either of them might fear for their own safety. "What's wrong with him?!"

Behind them, Lucian shut down, the sharp clank of his metallic body settling upon the asphalt summoning quick, curious glances. "A Doll can only be registered to one Cryomancer at a time, and vice-versa. Alec has to connect to Magnus's drives the instant they come online, or else Jonathan--" She broke off as she looked up, her heart clenching in her chest.

Jace hadn't ever joined them.

"Boot sequence complete." Magnus nearly smacked Alec as he abruptly sat up. His head swiveled upon his neck, his feline eyes aglow as they fixated upon Alec, and soon a small, empty smile turned the corners of his lips. "Greetings, Alexander. Are you alright?"

Alec released all his tension in a heavy sigh, collapsing forward in a sloppy hug of Magnus's torso. "You remember," he murmured. Even if he'd connected with Magnus in time, there was still the chance the Cryodoll's boot sequence would corrupt his memory stores. Even as it was, there was still the chance things had been disrupted or lost - but, at the very least, Magnus appeared to remember who he was, and that was enough for now. Shakily, he clambered back up to his feet, then offered Magnus a hand to help him up. "We'll run full diagnostics later," he muttered under his breath, still fighting against the tumultuous emotions bubbling at the back of his throat.  _How did this happen? How could I let this happen? What do we do now?_ Only his peripheral awareness that they were still confronting Jonathan inspired his rage to win out against the rest, and he whirled, his blue eyes burning with all the fury of a raging fire. "Jonathan!!!"

But the golden eyes staring back at him snuffed out his every curse.

Alec was the last one to finally turn and look. The other Alec and Magnus were suspended in an apprehensive confusion, flung into waters too foreign for either of them to navigate. Izzy had recovered enough to bring her bracer back up before her and at the ready, fingers poised, eyes flickering back-and-forth across the scene before them in a desperate search for any strategy she could find. And Clary... Poor Clary stood still, her broken spirit visible in the limp hang of her arms, blaster suspended precariously from her fingertips, jaw gaping and the glistening of tears touching the corners of her eyes. In her, Alec saw his own inner turmoil reflected tenfold, amplified by one key difference:

Neither Clary nor any of the rest of them could have ever in a million years thought Jace might have once been a Cryodoll.

And yet, there he stood, eyes glowing brightly upon an expressionless visage. He faced them with his arms held slightly raised, his hands split in two to provide for a pair of energy blades that thrummed menacingly from power cores nestled within his forearms. Behind him, Jonathan stood with a barely-suppressed cackling brightening his features, the device hanging about his neck emitting a soft, blue glow.

"My, my," he triumphantly chuckled, hands moving to clasp at the small of his back. "Congratulations on protecting your Cryodoll, Alexander. However, I'm sorry to say I never had any interest in some retconned service model."

Quick as a whip, Alec threw out his hand and fired a marker from his brace. In perfect sync, as though nothing had changed since the last time they'd partnered, Magnus strafed sideways out from the heart of the group and thrust his hand forward, firing off a small blast of energy that raced towards Jonathan's head. It was a perfect mark, but Jace was quicker, apparently built primarily for combat, and the sync rate with  _StarStrata_ 's device proved far superior to a regular brace. Ultimately, the blast proved wholly ineffective as Jace rose one of his energy blades in its way, letting it burst harmlessly against him before surging forward. Thankfully, Alec's quick reflexes saved Magnus from a potentially debilitating blow, issuing the order to raise his shields _just_ in the nick of time. Jace's blade came down towards his head and caught upon the cross of Magnus's arms, a sheen of blue energy vibrating out from his wrists to keep the imposing weapon just inches away from his face.

By then, the others had recovered enough to kick into action. The other Alec and other Magnus still didn't really know exactly what was going on, but nor did they need to in order to address Jonathan as a threat that needed to be stopped by any means necessary. Another arrow flew through the air, followed a moment later by a fireball the other Magnus threw in an arc. Izzy crouched low in the center of the group, using them for cover while she yelled through her brace for Raphael to locate Simon. Clary, far more impassioned than any of the others, yelled all her frustration, rage, and heartbreak to the night sky as she broke into a run, blaster forward and firing off in rapid succession.

Through it all, Jonathan hardly moved a muscle, save for what was required to curl his lips into a cruel smirk. Jace spun away from Magnus and across the line of attacks, one blade-arm each catching the other Alec's arrow and the other Magnus's fireball. He came to a halt directly in Clary's line of fire, standing sturdy between her and Jonathan with his arms crossed before him to absorb her every shot. That is, at least, until he suddenly lowered his arms and began taking the full force of each blast directly to his chest.

Clary stopped dead in her tracks, though she continued aiming her blaster forward, confused tears streaming down her cheeks. "W-What?!" she choked in furious anxiety, eyes fixated upon the hole her attacks had already burned through Jace's jacket, shirt, and silicone layer. She stared at the wisps of smoke wafting out from the singed, exposed metal in his chest, and he stared back at her, unmoving and emotionless.

"As I thought," Jonathan scoffed, unimpressed. "Even though he's a perfectly repairable Doll, you just can't  _bear_ to harm him, can you, Little Sister?" From the slight quirk in his lips, it was clear he knew just how much his words stung Izzy and Alec as well as Clary. Dismissing their aggressions with a negligent wave, he turned his back on all of them, casually taking his leave in a languid stroll down the quiet street. "Don't follow me," he warned, "lest you wish to harm your precious 'Jace' even further."

Even as Jonathan departed, Jace stood still, right up until the moment Jonathan snapped his fingers - a completely unnecessary gesture, given his collar, made to emphasize a point more than anything else. At its sound, Jace abruptly turned and marched stiffly over to collect Jonathan's odd device without so much as acknowledging anyone else around him. He showed no slight sign of strain at the contraption's heft, and upon retrieving it followed after Jonathan like a well-trained dog, not a single motion out of place nor word raised in protest.

On impulse, Izzy made to run after them, stopped only by Clary's hand suddenly grasping her arm. " _Isabelle_ ," she urgently half-cried, half-whimpered. As her friend's large, dark eyes fell on her, she struggled to gather herself just enough to voice coherent thought. "Simon. We have to tell him what happened."

Izzy stared at her incredulously. "Do we even  _know_ what happened?" she protested.

"We know enough," Alec asserted. The other Magnus had taken to watching him with a kind of horrified curiosity. He couldn't remember his own Alec ever showing so much emotion as this Alec currently was, certainly not so blatantly. The tense anxiety flowing off the Cryomancer in waves as he surveyed the odd, mechanical Magnus was so severe it silenced even Magnus's rampant sarcasm and quick wit, for fear even a single misplaced word might trigger an emotional explosion he very much did  _not_ want to feel the full force of. Thankfully, Alec seemed aware of his emotional distress, carefully avoiding eye contact with everyone and instead checking Izzy's bracer as he continued addressing her. "Any luck tracking him?"

"Nothing," Izzy defeatedly reported, observing her brother with worried eyes. "He must have cloaked himself from cryosensors the minute he knew Jonathan's tech was related to Crystals."

"Great," Alec muttered. "Then we'll have to wait for the timeout rendezvous, unless we can get the comms to reconnect. We'll see if A.L.I.C.E. can get them working back at the Institute." He hesitated, then shifted to face the other Alec and other Magnus, his own Magnus watching on in patient silence. He chanced a quick, fleeting glance towards the other Magnus's eyes, but apparently couldn't stand much more than that - everyone could tell by the restrained trembling that he was barely holding it together as it was. "You... brought Magnus here, somehow," he murmured, struggling to maintain control over the situation. "Whatever you did, can you do it again? To take us back?"

"Of... Of course," the other Magnus awkwardly replied, looking to the other Alec for guidance. From what he could gather in these hurried events, the odd group before them had taken temporary residence at the Institute - even though, as far as  _he_ could tell, they all appeared perfectly Mundane.

Well, aside from Magnus, of course. And Jace.

With a reassuring nod from the other Alec, the other Magnus turned and rose his hands before him. A quick flick and twist of his fingers later, a spiraling light split the space before him, a brilliant swirl of yellow-orange that twisted the world within its confines.

"What... What about... the car...?"

Izzy and Alec turned to Clary, who'd squeaked her question so feebly it'd almost been overpowered by the newfound rushing of the wind. They exchanged a look, deciding quietly between themselves that Izzy would be the better source of emotional support. Instead, Alec summoned Magnus with a pained look, then gestured to where Lucian laid upon the ground, perfectly still.

While they gathered Lucian, Izzy sent a command off through her bracer to Raphael, then brought Clary close with an arm wrapped low about her waist. "It'll be fine where it is," she replied, slowly leading her distressed friend towards the other Magnus's odd spacial rip. The rustling of mechanical wings in the air announced Raphael's arrival just as they all readied themselves for the trip back to the Institute, none of them quite knowing what to expect but certain it'd be better than remaining  _here_.

Just before they stepped through, Magnus caught Clary's eyes and offered one of his detached, placid smiles - an attempt at comfort that only served to sink the dagger in her chest even deeper.

"Do not worry, Clary. I have utmost confidence in this team's ability to recover JC3-HD47."


	6. Telescope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > _You're out there (You're out there)_   
>  _I hear you calling from behind the star fields_   
>  _I feel you (I feel you)_   
>  _Radiating energy like eternal northern lights_
> 
> _-[Starset, Telescope](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vjewxPHq9I&t=0s&list=PLk6BQLseS5iYVCtDmXulkf1u6f5BarYIP&index=7)_

Magnus's Portal split open just a few feet inside the Institute's doors, depositing its occupants in the middle of the tight foyer. Magnus and Alec, of course, stepped through with no issue, as did Magnus's stiff-limbed and blank-eyed counterpart. The other Alec, Izzy, and Clary, on the other hand, fared much worse, nearly colliding into each other and toppling to the ground as the swirling light zipped shut behind them. Innately attuned to the other Alec's condition, the other Magnus instinctively shifted his arm to give his Cryomancer something to hold onto, his glowing yellow eyes staring down in a distant and detached expression of concern. The other Izzy meanwhile lurched, catching herself against the wall with one hand and holding the back of her other to her mouth. "Urgh... I think I'm going to be sick," she groaned.

The other Clary, as much out of emotional distress as physical disorientation, gave up altogether. She let herself collapse to the ground, face cradled in her dirty hands and small frame trembling from far too much pent-up tension pulling her in every direction. When the Shadowhunter Clary and Jace rounded the corner and spotted her, they immediately began to hurry towards the group but were stopped by a quick intervention from Alec, outstretched hand catching against Jace's chest. "Don't," he warned under his breath. He gave the other Clary a quick glance. "Her Jace is... compromised, somehow. We're still not clear on the details."

Jace paled. "By the Angel." He looked sick as he looked at the Clary beside him, mind snapping through memory after painful memory. "Jonathan's involved, right? Is it... Is it anything like... ?"

Alec lowered his hand with a weary sigh and shake of his head. "Like I said, we don't know."

"As in, the two of  _us_ don't know." Stepping up beside them, Magnus addressed Clary and Jace with a look that betrayed just how unnerved he was by everything he'd witnessed in the past hour or so. "The others look like they have  _some_ idea, at least." He twisted a bit in place, sending a pointed look towards the other Magnus. On his way back to facing his companions, he passed Alec a raised brow, continuing, "This whole thing is quite a bit too tight-lipped, if you ask me. How is it these... people... can be occupying your Institute and invoking your aid, and yet you know hardly anything about them and their little operation?"

"Protocol."

The echoed voice made them all start, only belatedly realizing the emotionless sound of Magnus's voice had come from his robotic counterpart rather than he himself. Their eyes flickered to his, met with the eerie warmth of their yellow glow. After a moment, Clary found presence enough to address him, though she found herself peripherally distracted by the other Alec's hurried rush past them and towards the command table. "What do you mean?" she asked distractedly, now somewhat fixated upon a version of Alec which seemed somehow more familiar, if painfully nostalgic, draped as he was in a stony and reserved coldness that surmounted anything she'd ever witnessed in her Head of the Institute.

The other Magnus seemed aware enough to notice her observation, his head turning in a slow and even motion to follow her gaze. "One of the conditions for our embarking upon this inter-dimensional missions was a mandate from A.L.I.C.E. that we restrict our impact upon this world. Even the most innocent-seeming of insights..." His head nodded towards Alec and Magnus, though his eyes remained upon the other Alec. "...relationships, for example... can have a profound impact on the course of one's life. This is, of course, a reality which contributes to the progression of a world, but there can be farther-reaching complications when insights from one world influence another world's evolution."

"Meanwhile," Alec irritably interjected, "your Jonathan appears to have  _no_ qualms about influencing our world, or vice-versa. He's out there making pets out of Raveners!"

" _What_?" Jace gawked, wide-eyed. "What the Hell do you mean, 'pets'?!"

"He appears to be using these creatures to power some kind of device," the other Magnus replied, his attentions returning to the group around him but failing to pick up their heightened state of alarm. "One dropped within the chamber, the Ravener caused some kind of energy pulse which resulted in my - and Jace's - reversion into Cryodoll form."

Clary's eyes widened, flickering back and forth between the other Magnus and the other Clary. Suddenly, her counterpart's state of duress made a whole lot more sense... even though so much more _didn't_ make sense. "Wait, so—"

" _Magnus_."

At the sound of the other Alec calling his name, the other Magnus twisted to glance over towards the command table, blinked once, then turned fully and began stiffly striding over to the other Alec's side. "Yes, Alexander," he emptily chimed.

Magnus bristled, steadied by Alec's soothing albeit equally irked hand upon his shoulder. Though neither of the fully understood the peculiar relationship between their cross-dimensional counterparts, and they were beginning to think the less they knew about it the better. Both were just one off comment away from embarking on a quest to save this other Magnus from what so far appeared to be some kind of elicit master/slave situation. Only the distant knowledge that the pair hailed from a completely different world with a completely different set of rules, understandings, and cultures stayed their spells and arrows, but the longer their dealings went on with their counterparts the less sufficient that explanation became. Their only comfort came from the observation that the other Magnus didn't appear bothered by any of it, nor display even a moment's hesitation - not even as he turned to hike himself effortlessly up upon the command table... then began unbuttoning his vest.

"W-Whoa, hold on there!" Magnus exclaimed, eyes widening in alarm as he swept towards the command table. "Just what do you think you're  _doing_?!"

The other Alec looked up at him, then glared sharply at Alec and instinctively moved to block Magnus and the Shadowhunters' paths. "The hell does it  _look_ like?" he snapped, fingers twitching beside the blaster holstered at his hip. "I need to conduct a full inspection of Magnus's parts to make sure everything was reverted properly."

"His 'parts'?" Jace couldn't help but chuckle.

While Alec and Magnus flushed, the other Alec rolled his eyes, then turned his back on them and pulled a few odd tools from one of his pants' many pockets - his world's equivalent of screwdrivers, phillips heads, and wrenches, they figured. "His scanners," he began as the other Magnus laid back upon the table. "His power core. His conversion modules." The center of the other Magnus's chest suddenly popped open, and the other Alec set to work, all but forgetting the half-intrigued, half-appalled stares behind him. "His backup drive. All the chips associated with all of those. And about fifty other system cores and modules none of you have even the first inkling of a clue about. So back off and let me deal with my Cryodoll, would you?!"

By this point, the other Izzy had approached the command table, the other Clary nestled under her arm. Even the most oblivious observer could tell the other Clary was upset, such was the set of her jaw and the clutch of her hands and the intent stare of her eyes _away_ from Jace. As the other Clary was in no state to be making conversation, the other Izzy took point, her eyes studiously flickering up and down the other Magnus in much the same way Jace and Clary remembered seeing their own Izzy study demonic corpses. "Enough with the bickering," she scolded her brother. "Whatever Jonathan's doing here has something to do with those rawhatevers. We're going to need to work with these people if we want to apprehend him and find Jace."

Magnus' brow rose. "'These people'?"

The other Izzy glanced uncomfortably at him. "Sorry."

The other Magnus' head shifted with a smooth evenness that could only be accomplished by robotics, his glowing yellow eyes focusing upon the other Alec. "She is right, Alexander. I advise we request additional disclosure permissions from A.L.I.C.E."

"I  _know_!"

Everyone present - save the other Magnus, of course - jumped at the other Alec's sharp snap. By this point, Alec's knuckles were white, and Magnus imagined his neck was on the verge of cramping from how tightly he clenched his jaw. The only reason no one took the opportunity to bite the other Alec's head off was the way he'd suddenly drawn into himself, his tools abandoned on the edges of the other Magnus' exposed cavity, hands trembling where he'd clasped them upon his lap. The other Izzy lifted her dark eyes, silently apologizing to Magnus and the Shadowhunters for her brother's outburst, and the other Clary had finally turned her head - but only to stare at the other Magnus, something ugly and loathsome beginning to burn in her eyes.

Finally, the other Alec closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then stood up and began collecting his tools. "...We'll finish up in my room. Once I've completed Magnus' diagnostics, I'll request full disclosure privileges from A.L.I.C.E." His things securely pocketed, he glanced awkwardly over his shoulder to their hosts, addressing them while the other Magnus closed his mid-section and stiffly rose upon the command table. "This is our mission, and we've already burdened you all far beyond acceptable measure. We have no place requesting further assistance of you, but I'll finalize everything with A.L.I.C.E. should you choose to offer it."

As he turned to lead the other Magnus away towards his -  _their_ \- room, Clary suddenly broke free of Jace's side, stepping in front of the other Alec's path. "We will. Of course."

The other Alec frowned at her, noted her companions' surprise, then grumbled, "I advise you take time to consider—"

"Your Jonathan is using demons to do... whatever it is he's doing." Turning, she summoned Alec's attention with the determined set of her eyes. "It's our duty to protect humans from demons and demonic activity. I can only assume that means  _all_ humans."

Alec folded his arms across his chest and shifted uncomfortably in place. "This is a little outside of our purview." His eyes rested momentarily upon the other Magnus, then forced themselves to make contact with the other Alec. "...Still, it has implications on our world, and potentially the Mundanes. With or without these... arrangements... so far as minimizing your Jonathan's impact here is concerned, we're in."

The other Alec averted his eyes and nodded, but didn't say anything before swiftly stepping past Clary, the other Magnus hot on his heels. Alec opened his mouth to yell after him, but the other Izzy rose her hand to cut him off. "Please forgive my brother," she replied, in a manner he was so used to being used  _about_ him rather than  _to_ him. Her eyes shifted awkwardly between him and Magnus as she continued, "I... won't ask about it, but it's enough knowing the two of them bother the two of  _you_. Just remember our worlds are wildly different - culturally as well as technologically. Right now, our Magnus is no different from Raphael or Lucian," she concluded, gesturing to where the other Alec's robotic wolf had been abandoned against a wall. The tiny Raphael was fluttering around him, the lights of his scanners occasionally sweeping over various sections of his body as he performed his own series of diagnostic checks.

Magnus of course knew what the other Izzy meant. Still, he was in a mood, and as he glowered towards the pair of Cryodolls couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "What, are  _they_ bisexual as well?"

A brief but no less awkward silence followed his remark, after which the other Clary's voice startled him and the Shadowhunters - as much from her sharp tone as from the word she said. " _What_?"

Clary blinked, overcome with an intense sense of guilt over her counterpart and, in turn, a need to defend her friend. "Bisexual," she snapped back. "You got a problem with that?"

The other Clary rolled her eyes. "The hell does that even  _mean_?"

Magnus parted his lips to deliver his own helping of centuries-developed sass, but before he could the other Izzy had brightened from head-to-toe and excitedly whirled on her friend. "Bi-sexual!" she chirped. "You know. 'Bi' for 'two' and 'sexual' for... well, you know. It's not that hard to decipher." She turned back to the others with a knowing grin. "He likes having sex with two people at once, right?"

Total blankness overtook the lot of them. The conversation had evolved so sharply and rapidly, none of them really knew how to respond.

Leave it to Jace to put an abrupt end to such stupors with one of his classic, jeering snickers. "Well? Do you, Magnus?"

"Seriously?" Clary scolded with a pinch of his arm.

Before Alec felt inspired to throw blows, Magnus wove his hands and took hold of the conversation. "That's not what it means," he replied, opting to give the other Izzy - and, perhaps, the other Clary - the benefit of the doubt. "It means I like being with both men and women." When all he got was continued stares of incomprehension, he clarified, "...Sexually." Still, nothing. "...Not necessarily at once." More silence. "...I enjoy both heterosexual and homosexual intimacies?"

The other Clary dismissed it all with a wave. "Yes, Magnus, we get it. But why the hell would you make a word for it?"

Alec narrowed his eyes at her. "I mean...  _he_ didn't make the word..."

The other Izzy looked up at him in genuine curiosity, her brow furrowed and a finger across her chin. "Well, who did? And who  _would_? That's like making a word for... I don't know, if you like wearing both pants and shorts."

Magnus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. On the one hand, it was a relief to discover their guests weren't total bigoted homophobes. On the other, this particular topic was proving rather exhausting to try and explain. "It's quite a bit more complicated than that. For us, anyway." He paused, then eyed the two girls in total bewilderment. "You see, in our world, not everyone is on board with anything outside of monogamous, straight relationships." When he noticed the other Izzy's lips part, he quickly added, "Heterosexual."

"...and... single-partnered?" the other Izzy guessed. "Isn't all that... I don't know, kind of excessive?"

Jace glanced at Alec and Magnus, then back to the other Izzy and Clary. "I take it you guys don't have people like that?"

The other Clary shrugged. "When the earth you live on is literally trying to disintegrate you, you find more important things to worry about than who your neighbors are fucking."

Alec leaned over and whispered in Clary's ear, "I don't think I'll  _ever_ get used to 'you' talking like that."

"It really is strange, isn't it?" Clary whispered back, thoughtfully. "These people are so different from us."

"...But they still ended up in the same spot," Alec murmured. "Makes you wonder just how similar—"

"CLARY!!!"

Clary whirled in wide-eyed shock at Simon's voice resounded down the hall. It wasn't until he literally flew past her and collided into the other Clary that she realized it wasn't Simon-the-vampire, but rather Simon-the-teched-out-flying-hacker.

"Simon!" the other Clary gasped with relief, throwing her arms around Simon and clinging to him like her life depended on it. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

Just as abruptly as he'd appeared, Simon pulled himself away from the other Clary, his protective helmet still shrinking away into the metallic collar looped around his neck. "Jace!" he cried urgently, hands gripping the other Clary's arms so tight his knuckles were certainly white beneath his gloves. "Where is he?! My tracking HUD finally came back online on my way here and everyone popped up except Jace. Is he alright? Why did you guys disconnect his comm? I have some leftover MedOS from that time we—"

" _Simon_ ," the other Izzy finally interjected, her hand clasping upon Simon's shoulder.

He'd been going a mile a minute, and only now that he'd been interrupted did he realize how shaken the other Clary was, her eyes glossed over and staring at him in a wordless, pained silence. He immediately paled, hands loosening and sliding down to intertwine his fingers with hers. "...Clary," he murmured, his voice trembling with dread. "What... What  _happened_... ?"

The other Clary just shook her head, then fell against Simon, burying her face in his chest. As he feebly tried his best to comfort her, he looked to the other Izzy, desperate for answers. The other Izzy bit her lip, eying Magnus and the Shadowhunters, then glancing off to where her brother had disappeared with his Cryodoll Magnus. "Help me carry Lucian to Alec's room. I'll fill you in along the way."

Simon frowned. "Lucian?" he echoed, watching the other Izzy walk off. When his eyes fell upon the abandoned Cryodoll, a number of thoughts passed across his flickering eyes. The other Izzy and Clary watched as he pieced together why Lucian was disconnected from Alec, knowing there was only one other Cryodoll across every last universe Alec would sync with. Somehow, determining what had happened to Magnus led him to guess what had happened to Jace - by the look on his face, it quickly became apparent he knew much more about the situation than he'd ever let on. This notion was confirmed when he uttered through grit teeth with a bit too much frustration rather than shock or confusion, "... _shit_."


	7. Gravity of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > _To fall in the star is to be nothingness_   
>  _To escape is to be empty_   
>  _Fall into the star and then we won't exist_   
>  _Or escape into the nothing_
> 
> _-[Starset, Gravity of You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV-6ROmgZys&list=PLk6BQLseS5iYVCtDmXulkf1u6f5BarYIP&index=8)_

_[-Ten years ago...-]_

"Whoa! H-Hey, buddy, are you alright?!"

Simon stood in total shock. Here he was, minding his own business, taking a stroll through the streets of Idris-4 when out of nowhere - well, the dark and likely molding alley beside him, actually - some blazed-out street osser quite literally falls in his arms. Admittedly, most of Simon's struggle to get the strange boy upright was to get away from the smell. Once he'd succeeded, however, leaning the boy against the building beside them, he got a better look of him, and found himself actually kind of liking what he saw. Well, beneath the tattered clothes, caked grime, what looked suspiciously of dried blood, and wild, sporadic OS lines, anyhow.

The boy's entire body trembled as he slowly lifted his face. Despite the pitiful state of the rest of him, a pair of gloriously golden eyes shone through long strings of oil-clumped hair. Thin, black lines ending in small, open circles were just beginning to fade from his face - thin from too much OS and not enough nutrition but otherwise sporting what Simon considered to be impeccable bone structure. Simon was about to remark as much when the boy suddenly pushed away from him, consequently slamming himself into the building and collapsing back down to the ground.

" _Hey_!!!" Simon exclaimed, following the boy down and grabbing for his shoulders. "Man, it's okay! I'm here to help!"

Perhaps from a bad OS mix, perhaps from something else, the boy twitchily managed to look up at Simon again. This time, Simon clearly saw the distrust thrumming in that vibrant stare, as well as the boy's tightly pursed lips. The rest of his body had tensed as well, and though his bloodshot eyes were still flickering from side-to-side in pursuit of hallucinated sparks his manner in general spoke of cornered, wild animals Simon'd seen on ancient nature programs.

Responding in kind, Simon released the boy's shoulders and raised his hands. "Same side, man. I won't hurt you." As Simon put a few more inches between them, the other boy steadily relaxed. Clearly, he still didn't wholly _trust_ Simon, but he at least had pretty good escape routes if he deemed it necessary. Inspired by this meager degree of progress, Simon brightened, then wove his hand. "My name's Simon - Simon Lewis. I... Uh..." He quickly glanced up the street, to where a cluster of luxury complexes towered above the sector. Turning back to the boy with a smile, he settled for, "I live around here." No need to say more than that... After all, he didn't want to intimidate or shame the poor boy back into reclusive silence. When the boy didn't respond for a few seconds, he asked, "...So, what's your name... ?"

The boy blinked - was that the first time he'd blinked? - then at last parted his lips. His voice was low, more matured than Simon would have guessed by his apparent age, but that wasn't nearly so surprising as his answer. "JC3—"

"S-Stop, stop!" Simon cried out, startling the boy back into full, panicked alert. "No, sorry, it's fine," Simon back-peddled, shaking his head and waving his hand. When he was certain he still had the boy's attention, though had obviously lost some progress on the "trust" front, he leaned closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. " _I get it_ ," he replied, hoping the boy would understand. When it was evident he didn't, Simon grumbled in frustration, then tried again. "I... I know _what you are_. It's okay! I don't mind!" he quickly added, seeing the boy subconsciously flinch toward the alley. Sighing, he sat down on the street, hoping it'd help comfort his companion, and wove for him to do the same. "From The Uprising, right? It's not your fault. I won't turn you in, okay? I promise."

The boy quieted, at last reaching a full calm. Slowly, hesitantly, he accepted Simon's invitation, sliding down to sit against the building, limbs awkwardly lying about him however they landed. His face remained lowered, as if in shame, his golden eyes staring at the space between them. "Th... ank... you..." he murmured. He seemed to be debating something, then warily looked up at Simon. "I... can go with you... ?"

Sympathy furrowed Simon's brow. "Of course. I'll help you find your Mancer, if you want?"

At that, the boy violently shook his head. "No! I do not want that!" Another pause, and then, "It is... not safe for me."

Apparently, that was about all the boy would say on the matter. Simon nodded. "Alright, then. Well..." He mulled it over for a bit, then whipped out his cell. His chat with Clary was, of course, already up front and open, but as his thumb zoomed toward the touchscreen he suddenly hesitated. Nothing - absolutely _nothing_ \- was kept secret between him and his best friend. They were partners for life, comrades, a dynamic duo who stood up for fellow little guys and refuted the idea that either of them was a "sidekick."

But...

Clary's father was Valentine Morgenstern, CEO of _StarStrata_ . He'd been at the forefront of the fight against outlawing all humanoid Cryodoll manufacture, and in fact had been the loudest advocate for finding and reverting every single ex-Cryodoll - whether or not their conversion had occurred during The Uprising. _Of course_ Clary could be trusted with JC3's secret, but that didn't protect her from her father's at-best-morally-suspect surveillance practices. And, if _he_ found out...

He quickly pocketed his phone and stood up, offering the boy his hand. "Come on. My friend and I have a hideout. I'll take you there, get you nice and cleaned up. You can live there, okay?"

The boy stared at him. "...Friend?" he asked.

Simon knew what he meant. The guilt of lying to Clary was already beginning to eat away at him. "I won't tell her. We'll come up with a cover - starting with a proper name." The boy accepted this answer, and then his hand, pulling himself up to a stand beside Simon. With the effects of the street OS now finally subsided, he stood with a rigidness that stood out like a sore thumb. _We'll have to work on that_ , Simon thought with a wince. Nonetheless, he shoved his hands in his pockets and began leading the boy down the street. "Let's see... JC3, huh? We'll pick something easy to remember, something close to your ID. What do you think of the name 'Jace'? It's short, simple, but definitely drenched in 'cool' style."

"...Jace," the boy repeated softly, staring at Simon. Subtly, the tight pull of his lips cracked into a smile, and he slid his hands into the holes of his shirt, mimicking Simon and his pockets. "I like that."

* * *

"You _knew_?!"

The other Izzy quickly grabbed the other Clary before she could tear into Simon. Subconsciously, he'd stepped back, their hosts moving to shield him from whatever havoc the distraught redhead's outburst might wreck. "I'm sorry!" he cried, hands raised in self-defense. Still linked to his subconscious, Simon's helmet snapped out of its casing around his neck - probably more protection than he actually needed, but he didn't care to take the risk of retracting it. "I _told_ you," he continued, his voice projected through small speakers that must have been placed somewhere along the helmet's metal ring, "we couldn't take the risk of your father finding out. You _know_ what would happen if he did..."

She _barely_ calmed, her clenched fists lowering to her sides as she continued glaring at him. "Like it made a fucking difference!" she snarled. "Jonathan _has_ him, now! What's worse, he used Dad's fucking collar to seize him while Alec and Izzy were checking on Magnus!" Beside her, the other Izzy winced - Alec's heart went out to his mirror-sister, seeing just how guilty she felt over the whole thing. The other Clary seemed to notice as well, her hand moving to clutch the other Izzy's even though she continued her angry, tear-choked tirade. "If we'd only known, maybe we could have saved him! At the very least, Izzy could've registered Jace to her brace before fucking _Jonathan_ got to him!"

"I know," Simon managed through his own restrained emotional breakdown. "I know, and I'm sorry. Trust me, I'm just as torn up about it as you are."

Behind him, Jace's brow furrowed, and he opened his mouth - Clary shot him a warning look. _Not now._

Magnus stepped towards the teched-out girls, warily eying the other Clary's blaster as he tried to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Look—" She shook off his hand. He swallowed his exhaustion and gave her space as he continued, "Look, what's done is done. Even _I_ can't change the past. Arguing about it isn't going to help you get your Jace back."

"My counterpart is correct."

The group looked up in surprise at the stiff and emotionless echo of Magnus's voice, finding his interdimensional counterpart rounding the corner just ahead of the other Alec. After quickly assuring herself the other Clary wouldn't devour Simon alive, Simon retracting his helmet in agreement, the other Izzy turned to them, welcoming her brother back with a hug. "You're done already?" Stepping back, she looked the other Magnus over head-to-toe. "He's okay?"

"All of his systems are working," he evasively muttered, avoiding eye contact. Alec swore he heard the slightest crack in his twin's voice, but all too quickly he found himself under the steely, empty stare of his own eyes, a look he could still remember giving the world back before he'd admitted to and embraced his personal truth. "Magnus showed me footage he managed to capture from the fight. Specifically, a view of some of Jace's parts when Clary opened him up." His eyes flickered her way, catching her scowl and pursed lips. "Sorry," he insincerely replied, already turning to the Shadowhunters - specifically, Jace. "We think we found something that could help."

Jace narrowed his eyes. “Why do I get the feeling I’m about to be accused of something?”

“It is not your fault,” the other Magnus ineffectively reassured him, stepping up to the command table and raising his hands. As he did, A.L.I.C.E.’s digital console thrummed to life, shedding a soft blue light upon the room. He swiftly navigated through a few different windows the others didn’t have time to register, and within moments had brought into focus a window relaying the aforementioned footage, right beside an uncomfortably thorough profiling of this world’s Jace.

"Wow," Jace remarked, frowning at one line in particular: _Modified in-utero, Angel blood injection_. "Do a lot of stalking in your spare time?"

"Yes, actually," the other Izzy chirped. Eying him slyly, she snickered, "Got someone in mind?"

"Herondale."

The other Izzy blinked and turned to her brother in shock. "What... What did you say... ?"

_Now_ things were starting to get interesting. Jace frowned, folding his arms across his chest. "That's my family's name - my blood family, anyhow. Long story."

"His mom killed herself,” the other Alec unceremoniously relayed. “This world's Valentine took him in, then faked his own death and shoved him off onto the Lightwoods."

Clary placed a sympathetic hand upon Jace's arm, equally perturbed by the other Alec publicly announcing all of that without the slightest hesitation. "Uh, do you mind?"

The other Alec glanced at them, then at Alec and Magnus, apparently surprised by their irritation. "It's just the facts," he replied plainly.

The other Izzy shuddered. "It's _weird_ . You mean he's our _brother_ in this world?" Apparently, none of them were perturbed in the slightest by all the “death” bits of Jace’s over-summarized profile.

"Let's just skip to the chase, huh?" Alec cut in just before his counterpart answered - he felt confident _none_ of them wanted to hear the rest of that conversation, albeit for different reasons. Nodding to the other Izzy, he asked, "I'm guessing by your earlier reaction the name 'Herondale' holds some other significance in your world?"

The other Izzy looked up at him worriedly. "Yeah. They're... They _were_... Idris' premier manufacturer of humanoid Cryodoll components. It used to be a Herondale Cryodoll outfitted with Morgenstern chips was the best you could get when it came to humanoid models."

Jace felt a chill run down his spine. "What happened? They go out of business?"

"You could say that," the other Clary muttered bitterly. "They were the most affected by The Uprising and the resulting litigations. The whole thing wiped their inventory. Any guesses who swooped in and bought out what was left?"

"It is _really_ strange thinking of Valentine as a business mogul rather than a mass-murderer," Clary noted.

"Simon mentioned The Uprising earlier," Magnus pointed out. "We had an event we refer to as 'The Uprising' as well, though I imagine ours was quite a bit different from yours." At their intrigued looks, he briefly explained, "The aforementioned mass-murdering. Let's called it a... _political disagreement_."

Simon scoffed. "You'd probably call ours the exact opposite. Rather than mass-murder, it’d be more like a mass- _birth_." He gestured to the other Magnus as he explained, "There was some kind of power surge, originating from the city's Crystal core. It swept through and converted nearly all humanoid Cryodolls into human beings."

Magnus blinked in surprise, turning to his counterpart. "Is that how you... ?"

The other Magnus looked at him, then put on a disturbingly empty smile. "No. Decommissioned models were not affected, only Actives."

Before they could venture too far down the nature of the other Magnus’s conversion, the other Alec diverted the conversation back to the other Jace. “In any case, our Jace was apparently a Herondale model, probably with Morgenstern programming, and you could say the same about _this_ Jace. I’m willing to bet there are more parallels like that between our universes.”

“Okay,” Jace bit out through gritted teeth. It was taking a lot to swallow the flippant way these people were discussing his dirty laundry, and seeing his _parabatai_ ’s face leading the charge didn’t help. “Fine. Maybe. But all of those parallels are in the past. How is any of it supposed to help you all find the other me _now_?”

“What’s the nature of your relationship with my brother?” the other Clary quickly jumped in. “Do you guys have a history? Maybe Jonathan has some kind of personal beef with Jace?”

At that, Jace couldn’t help but release a loud, dry laugh. “Jonathan literally tried to kill me. He had this really messed up superiority complex - convinced himself dear ol’ Dad liked me better and got pissy about it.”

“Wait, ‘had’?” Simon cut in. “What happened? You guys make up?”

It broke Clary’s heart to see Simon’s face so hopeful. “He’s dead,” she replied softly. “Jace killed him.”

Simon blinked. His mouth opened, then quickly shut, a hand moving to ball at his lips in thought. Suddenly, he turned and walked off, waving for the others to continue without him.

Clary rose a brow in his wake. “Simon… doesn’t _like_ my brother, does he… ?”

“That wasn’t distress,” Magnus remarked with a wary stare. “That was insight. What isn’t he telling us?”

The other Izzy sighed and shook her head. “Who knows? He does this sometimes. He’s probably still real torn up about all this.”

“Let him stew,” the other Clary grumbled. “What _I_ wanna know is how any of this is supposed to help us find Jace? What are we supposed to do - scrub this guy’s mind and hope for the best?”

“ _I_ don’t know,” the other Alec grumbled back. “It was just a thought.” He turned to Jace, and for once Jace felt just the faintest similarity to the connection he shared with his _parabatai_. “If you’ll let us interview you, ask you extensively about yourself and Jonathan… and maybe, I dunno, maybe we could talk with Clary too, and—"

“Alexander.”

The other Alec cut off abruptly, and for a moment stared in shock at the other Magnus. “Uh,” he muttered, exchanging a quick glance with his sister - to Magnus and the Shadowhunters’ intrigue, they both appeared stunned by the other Magnus’s interruption. “Yeah?” he eventually replied, his tone stumbling back to normal. “What?”

“I hope you will pardon me for saying this,” the other Magnus rigidly spoke, “but I believe you are thinking too hard about this.”

“You… You do?” The other Alec blinked, then shook his head. “I-I mean, what? _Why_? What is it?”

“How did Jonathan know about JC3-HD47?”

“Jace,” the other Clary bitterly corrected. “His _name_ is _Jace_.” The other Alec became the next target of her venom. “It was Simon, wasn’t it?! He was the only one who knew - Jonathan must have gotten to him, or gave him some kind of ridiculous offer, or—"

“ _Clary_ ,” the other Izzy interjected, reaching out to grab her arm. “Enough of this. I know you’re freaking out, but none of this is Simon’s fault, okay? Our first priority is recovering Jace, and in order to do that we need you and Simon to be cool.”

“So then tell your Doll to stop speaking in riddles!” she snapped at the other Alec.

“I—” the other Alec started, glancing anxiously between her and the other Magnus. The other Magnus was staring at him, calm and collected - behind him, Alec and Magnus had visibly soured, their Clary glancing guiltily between them and her counterpart. The other Alec took a breath and focused on the other Magnus. “Magnus, please tell us your idea - _plainly_.”

The other Magnus’s glowing eyes slid down to study the brace around the other Alec’s arm, and then an empty smile pulled across his lips as he looked back at his face. “Of course, Alexander.” His head rotated upon its perch to find the other Clary. “I propose that Simon _wasn’t_ the only one who knew. It is impossible to know what chips Jace is outfitted with, as they were not exposed from your assault. However, it is not uncommon for chip manufacturers to work together with Cryodoll manufacturers. If the two companies are amicable, it could result in significantly reduced production costs and timelines, increasing the profit margins of both companies.” He then turned around in place, setting his eerily cold stare upon Jace. “Given that this Jace is, effectively, the result of a Morgenstern-Herondale alliance of sorts, I do not think it unreasonable to presume our Jace could  be the same. I propose this concerted effort could have occurred prior to The Uprising, but after Clary refuted her family’s business, leaving Jonathan the only of the Morgenstern children to know of Jace’s true origins.”

“Wait, wait,” Jace spoke up, waving his hand. “Look, I don’t know how the families are in your world, but I wouldn’t call the nature of my birth the result of any ‘amicable’ inter-family relations. The Herondales all but disowned my father when he joined Valentine.”

“Certainly, there is little indication of what may have motivated the Herondales to work with _StarStrata_ ,” the other Magnus replied. “However, the alliance would have provided Mr. Morgenstern with an opportunity to study and document Cryodoll construction as part of his efforts to develop the bracer tech Jonathan is using. It may be that the Herondale’s side of things amounted to little more than a profitable business opportunity. _StarStrata’s_ logs may provide insight into why the Herondales agreed to the contract. More importantly, they may reveal why Jonathan is so interested in Jace, which could point us to where he could be hiding and what he could be planning.”

“This could be a continuation of Valentine’s original efforts,” the other Alec agreed, catching on. “Simon can get us the business logs, but we may need to track down whatever remains of the Herondale estate to gain actual insight into what’s going on - I doubt Valentine was dumb enough to spell it out in company logs.”

The other Clary had fallen quiet, arms folded tight across her chest and hands clinging to her elbows. She had taken to carefully staring into the middle-distance, lips taught, as if she feared the slightest loosening of a single muscle would send everything inside her pouring out with no end in sight. Jace hated seeing her like that, even if she wasn’t “his” Clary, and he moved to try and comfort her. “Hey, this is a good thing. It means—”

The other Clary jerked away from him so violently he practically felt it like a slap across the face. “It _mean_ he… That, we…” She fell into a choked silence, then suddenly turned and fled, clearly upset but giving no indication whether it was sadness or anger - probably a complicated mixture of both.

“What’s her deal?!” Clary fumed, beyond frustrated with how her twin was behaving. It was absurd to think it had any effect on her, but she couldn’t help but feel ashamed at seeing herself act like that. “You guys have a solid lead on finding your Jace! She should be leaping for joy! And the way she’s treating Simon? I swear, I could just—”

She broke off when she felt Magnus’ ringed fingers lay upon her shoulder. She glanced up at him in confusion, then turned to the other Alec, Izzy, and Magnus. The other Magnus, of course, hardly seemed affected by any of this, but the other Lightwoods had fallen into an awkward stillness, not tense like the other Clary had been but quiet and reflective nonetheless. The other Izzy looked up at Clary, her dark eyes soon flickering to Magnus and Jace before lifting to catch the other Alec’s gaze. Whatever thoughts passed unspoken between them made the other Alec pale, but ultimately he nodded.

“Magnus,” he finally choked out. “Go with Izzy. Debrief Simon on the plan and see what he says… If we need to secure anything to get him into _StarStrata_.”

The other Magnus stared at him in a way that almost seemed curious, if it weren’t for the knowledge that he _couldn’t_ be curious. A placid smile stretched across his lips. “Yes, Alexander. We shall determine what arrangements need to be made and formulate a plan for your review.” And with that, he turned and departed, without so much as a parting gesture or gentle word.

It made Alec’s stomach twist.

The other Izzy squeezed her brother’s arm, then turned to follow the other Magnus. The very careful and deliberate silence she maintained made Alec grow curious, and he turned to his twin, ready to launch into an aggressive interrogation. Before he could utter a single word, however, the other Alec was speaking, head turned slightly towards the command table. “A.L.I.C.E. End session.”

For a moment, nothing happened, as though even the strange, interdimensional AI was hesitating. Ultimately, the feeds that had been hovering over the table began to flicker.

> _SESSION TERMINATED. DISCONNECTING. THANK YOU FOR USING THE ANONYMOUSLY-LINKED INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS EXCHANGE._

Clary frowned, glancing warily between Jace, Alec, and Magnus. Jace eyed Alec, and Magnus subtly slipped his hand into Alec’s in a tiny conveyance of support. Collectively, they braced themselves for whatever the other Alec was about to tell them as A.L.I.C.E.’s soft, blue hue gradually died. Even when all trace of A.L.I.C.E. had disappeared, he waited a moment longer, then at last released a breath he’d been holding for what probably felt like a century. “...I’m sorry.”

The words shocked Magnus and the Shadowhunters. Nonetheless, Alec scoffed. “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific.”

It earned him a vile glare, even as the other Alec muttered, “...I know. There are things we haven’t told you - with good reason. But…” His eyes shifted to Magnus, then trailed to Clary and Jace, his expression growing steadily more somber. “...Cryodolls, even Humanoid Cryodolls, are not people. They are machines. It’s difficult to remember that, I know, and I realize that seeing us treat Magnus and Jace from this perspective is… hard, to say the least. Even painful. But, it’s important.”

“Why?” Clary pressed. “What does it matter? Machine or not, if you care about them, you should treat them the same way you’d treat human beings!” The whole thing struck a particular nerve with her - it spoke too closely to what she’d witnessed in Shadowhunters and Downworlders when she’d first opened her eyes to this insane world of demons and angels.

“Because of The Uprising,” he exasperatedly answered, though his apparent guilt kept him from looking at her directly.

Magnus frowned. “When the Cryodolls… how did you put it? ‘Converted’? Into human beings? I fail to see how that would complicate anything. In fact, I’d imagine it should make it _easier_ to treat your friends like actual friends rather than slaves or pets.”

The other Alec winced. “That’s… not what I’m talking about…” He took a deep, streadying breath, then continued, “The problem isn’t being ‘friends’. It’s…”

When he didn’t finish, Jace rolled his eyes. “We know, Alec. Our Alec and Magnus are the same, you guys are f—”

“ _SHUT UP!!!_ ”

Quick as a flash, the other Alec had pounced on Jace, clamping his hand over his mouth and eyes in a wide panic. An intense paranoia drew sweat along his hairline and set his pulse racing - enough that Jace could feel it through the fingers pressed across his lips. Frantically, he glanced between Jace and the command table, apparently waiting for something - or for nothing.

Alec, thoroughly done with his counterpart’s antics, marched over to the table and yanked the plug from the floor, abruptly cutting its power and killing its usual, dull glow. “Would you _relax_ ?” he scolded. “First of all, like Jace said, we’re the same. Second of all, no one _here_ cares - not that anyone in _your_ world cares, either, apparently.”

The other Alec frowned, his hand sliding off of Jace’s mouth. “Wait, what? Who told you that?”

“Your sister,” Jace grumbled, shoving him away. “Everyone fucks everyone else and no one gives a damn, apparently.” When his words brought nothing but more confusion, he restated, “You’re gay. You fuck guys. Whup-dee-doo.”

“What?” the other Alec scoffed, his manner so genuine it threw everyone for a loop. For a moment, they wondered if they’d read the situation completely wrong, but that notion flew out the window the moment he continued, “Why the hell would anyone care that I fuck dudes?”

Alec winced this time, throwing his hands up. “Could you maybe not be so… crude about it?” Steadily recovering, he added, “Or _loud_?”

The other Alec looked at him, then at Magnus, then to Clary and Jace. “No, no,” he sighed, gesturing with his hands to help him think. “It’s not… Look, no one cares about that, okay? But… Alright, so I’m guessing what Izzy and Clary _actually_ told you is that our world is a lot more sexually accepting than _your_ world, right?” He looked around at each of them, and only continued when he saw each of them nod, no matter how confused they still looked. “Okay. Well, people also don’t really care what a Cryomancer does with their Cryodoll. In the case of Humanoid models, this means… well, _meant_ , anyway… that there was a fairly large number of Cryomancers who made their money in the sex industry...”

After a brief moment where it became evident he wasn’t going to clarify, Clary nodded and replied. “Prostitution. You guys turned your Cryodolls into sex slaves. _Great_.”

“They weren’t _human_ ,” the other Alec gruffly defended, though it was evident it bothered him just as much as it bothered Clary.

But his word choice made Magnus catch on, and with a narrowed brow he replied, “...’weren’t’. But then, The Uprising happened.”

The other Alec looked at him, and Magnus was hit with such intense and evident sorrow he couldn’t believe it was ‘Alec’ who was looking at him. “Yes,” he replied, his voice cracking slightly. “When that happened, a whole slew of legislation came out specifically regarding the rights and protections of Cryodolls who had become human. And that’s a _good_ thing,” he quickly added, turning to Clary before she could berate him again. “As Cryodolls, none of them had ever had their own will, had never made their own decisions - it’s all tied to their Cryomancer’s brace.” He rose his arm in demonstration, indicating the complicated machinery wrapped around his wrist. “This connects them directly to our minds, so even if we’re not actively issuing direct orders they’re still keyed into our subconscious, and…” He hesitated. “...and, subservient to it.”

“Okay, so all these laws came out to protect Cryodolls like your Magnus and Jace,” Jace replied. “Can we get to the part where you and Clary are freaking out about it?”

The other Alec swallowed and turned to look at him. “Our world is very open-minded about sexuality,” he repeated. “In tandem with that, it’s also very careful about matters of sexual assault - again, a _good_ thing.” Despite his words, his eyes fell, and his shoulders drooped. “But… a key element of determining sexual assault is the presence of will… And, I mean, only a _really_ fucked up person would want to risk assault of that nature. _I_ of course don’t want to risk that… And, neither do Simon and Clary…”

Jace and Clary quickly got past the little detail the other Alec had let slip about their counterparts’ relationship. Instead, Clary continued, “...so, when it came to the Cryodoll legislations…”

The other Alec somberly turned to her. “Particularly because of how rampant the humanoid sex trade was, we were very careful about protecting converted Cryodolls from the wills of their previous Cryomancers. In the absence of definitive proof of self-actualization and will, they’re removed from the presence of their Cryomancers completely.”

And uneasy silence befell the group. Alec looked at Magnus, their shared stare growing heavy, then turned to the command table, his counterpart’s paranoia creeping into him as he found himself wary of the possibility A.L.I.C.E. might somehow still be listening to their conversation. “So… in plain terms…” he softly uttered.

The other Alec’s gaze fell to the ground, built-up moisture threatening to break free of the corners of his eyes. “Any converted Cryodoll revealed to be physically involved with their previous Cryomancer or that Cryomancer’s associates shall be immediately relocated and placed under identity protection from that Cryomancer.” He looked up at Magnus, his distress enough that it pained Magnus to see.

“I swear to you - I’ve _never_ pressured Magnus into anything, not even when he was still a Cryodoll. Even still, if they find out about us… they’ll take him away.”


End file.
